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EIGHTY-FIFTH
II ANNUAL II
CONFERENCE

OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS
CHRIST OF LATTER-
DAY SAINTS

Held in the Tabernade and Assembly Hall,
Salt Lake City, Utah, April 4th,
5th and 6th, 1915, with a full
report of the discourses

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Eighty-Fifth Annual Conference of the
Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints

FIRST DAY

The Eighty-fifth Annual Confer-
ence of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints convened in the
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, at 10
a. m., Sunday, April 4, 1915, Presi-
dent Joseph F. Smith presiding.

AUTHORITIES PRESENT.

There were present of the Firit
Presidency, Joseph F. Smith, An-
thon H. Lund, and Charles W. Pen-
rose ; of the Council of the Twelve
Apostles, Francis M. Lyman, Heber
J. Grant, Rudger Clawson, Reed
Smoot, George Albert Smith,
George F. Richards, Orson F. Whit-
ney, David O. Ale Kay, Anthony \Y.
Ivins, Joseph F. Smith, Jr., and
James E. Talmage ; of the First
Council of Seventy, Seymour B.
Young, Brigham H. Roberts, J.
Golden Kimball, Rulon S. Wells, Jo-
seph W. McMurrin, Charles H.
Hart, and Levi Edgar Young ; Pre-
siding Patriarch Hyrum G. Smith;
of the Presiding Bishopric, Charles
W. Nibley, Orrin P. Miller, and
David A. Smith; Assistant Histor-
ians Andrew Jenson, and A. Wm.
Lund. There were also a large num-
ber of Presidents of Stakes with
their Counselors, Presidents of Mis-
sions, Bishops of Wards, Patriarchs,
and numerous other prominent men
and women representing various

HISTORIAN'S

quorums and organizations of the
Church.

President Joseph F. Smith called
the assembly to order, and an-
nounced that, in consequence of the
over-crowded condition in the Tab-
ernacle, another meeting will now
convene in the adjoining Assembly
Hall, under direction of Elder
Rudger Clawson.

The conference services were
commenced by the choir singing the
hymn :

Come, dearest Lord, descend and
dwell,

By faith and love, in every breast;
Then shall we know, and taste, and
feel

The joys that cannot be expressed.

The opening prayer was offered
by Elder Joseph W. McMurrin.

The Choir sang the anthem, "The
Palms."

PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.

OPENING ADDRESS.

Condition of peace and spiritual prog-
ress in the Church. — Our message
of peace and salvation to mankind.
— Saints should learn the truth, and
teach it to their children. — Church
organization and authority essential.
— Strife and war deplored, peace
prayed for— Men urged to love and
care for wives and children. — Pre-
siding Bishopric's report of tithing
expended, etc. — Comments on de-
tails of the report.

OFFICE LIBRARY

The Church of Jesus Christ ot Latter-da? Saints

4a. w 5 o

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

I have no doubt that many of the
good people gathered here this
morning, not having heard, widl
wonder what has become of the
great Tabernacle organ. It may be
proper for me to say to you that the
organ is undergoing thorough re-
pairs, and is in a condition that it
can not be used at present. Per-
haps it will not be prepared for use
for several weeks to come. Since
the last conference held in this tab-
ernacle, the tabernacle itself has un-
dergone somewhat extensive re-
pairs. A new floor has been laid,
the seats have all been renovated,
repainted, revarnished, and the
building put in very excellent con-
dition. During the process of paint-
ing and renovating the interior of
the building, it was necessary to
keep up a high degree of heat to
dry the paint, etc., to have the build-
ing ready for this conference. It
was found that this prolonged heat-
ing injuriously affected some parts
of the organ, putting it really out of
order for the present. I thought just
a word of explanation with refer-
ence to this matter might be ap-
propriate at this time.

This is the opening session of
the eighty-fifth annual general con-
ference of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. I feel
very thankful indeed that I have
been permitted, with the rest of you,
to be present at the opening of this
conference, and I hope that we will
enjoy a blessed time together, dur-
ing the three days that many, if not
all of us, will have the privilege of
assembling here, morning and af-
ternoon, to be instructed and to
give instruction and to hear exhor-
tation and, if necessary, be reproved
as the Spirit of the Lord may direct
those who shall address us from
time to time. I am very happy, in-

deed, under' the impressions that
weigh upon my mind with reference
to the prosperity of the work of the
Lord throughout these valleys of
the mountains, and in the various
missions of the Church throughout
the world. Everything seems to
point to the fact, which we hold in
our faith and in our anticipation,
that the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, is still pursuing
its course peacefully onward and up-
ward, extending and increasing on
the right hand and on the left, and
all along the front. It is really un-
necessary, perhaps, for me to re-
peat, in some measure, at least, that
which has been frequently said at
the opening of conferences of the
Church, that there never has been a
time, at least within my remem-
brance, when the Church was in a
better condition spiritually and tem-
porally, than it is today. I do not
believe that there has ever been a
time when the organizations of the
various quorums of the Priesthood
were more nearly perfect or more
diligent than they are at present, or
when the stakes of Zion were more
properly guarded and their interests
watched by those who are presid-
ing over them than they are today.
I believe that our general and aux-
iliary organizations of the Church,
also the standard organizations of
the Priesthood, are performing their
duty quite as well now, and I think
somewhat better, than at any pre-
vious period of the Church's his-
tory. Why should it not be so ? We
are not "ever learning and never
coming to a knowledge of the
truth." On the contrary, we are
ever learning and are ever drawing
nearer to a proper comprehension
of the truth, the duty and the re-
sponsibility that devolve upon mem-
bers of the Church who are called

PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.

to responsible positions in it. Not
only does this apply to those mem-
bers which are called to act in re-
sponsible positions, but it applies to
those who may be termed "lay mem-
bers," if we may use such a term
with reference to members of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints.

Who is there, under the circum-
stances that exist around us, that is
not growing? Who is there of us
that is not learning something day
by day? Who is there of us that is
not gaining experience as we pass
along, and are attending to the du-
ties of membership in the Church,
and to the duties of citizens of our
state, and citizens of our great and
glorious nation? It seems to me
that it would be a very sad comment
upon the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints and her people to
suppose for a moment that we are at
a standstill, that we have ceased to
grow, ceased to improve and to ad-
vance in the scale of intelligence,
and in the faithful performance of
duty in every condition in which we
are placed as a people and as mem-
bers of the Church of Christ.

I am most happy, my brethren
and sisters, to say to you that which
you all know, that the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is
at peace with itself, and it is at peace
with all the world. We have no
spirit of war in our hearts. We
have been taught and we have
learned that it is a part of our duty,
and a very important part, to aban-
don the spirit of strife, contention,
and warfare, either among ourselves
or against any portion of the chil-
dren of men. We send out our el-
ders to the nations of the earth, not
to make war upon the religious or-
ganizations that exist, not to con-
tend w'ith them and to create strife,

confusion and contention among the
inhabitants of the world. The mes-
sage that we have to bear to men is
the message of life, peace, salvation,
and redemption from sin.

Our elders are instructed here,
and they are taught from their
childhood up, that they are not to
go out and make war upon the re-
ligious organizations of the world
when they are called to go out to
preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
but to go and bear with them the
message which has been given to
us through the instrumentality of
the Prophet Joseph, in this latter
dispensation, whereby men may
learn the truth, if they will. They
are sent out to offer the olive
branch of peace to the world, to of-
fer the knowledge that God has
spoken from the heavens once more
to his children upon the earth ; that
God has in his mercy restored again
to the world the fulness of the
Gospel of His Only Begotten Son,
in the flesh, that God has revealed
and restored to mankind the divine
power and authority from Himself,
whereby they are enabled and auth-
orized to perform the ordinances of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ neces-
sary for their salvation, and their
performance of these ordinances
must of necessity be acceptable un-
to God who has given to them the
authority to perform them in His
name. Our elders are sent out to
preach repentance of sin, to preach
righteousness, to preach to the
world the gospel of love, of fellow-
ship and of friendship among man-
kind, to teach men and women to
do that which is right in the sight of
God and in the presence of all men,
to teach them the fact that God has
organized His Church, a Church of
which He, Himself, is the author
and the founder — not Joseph Smith,

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

not President Brigham Young, not
the Twelve Apostles, that have been
chosen in this dispensation — to them
does not belong the honor of estab-
lishing the Church, God is its au-
thor, God is its founder and we are
sent out and we send out our elders
to make this proclamation to the
world, and leave it to their own
judgment and discretion as to
whether they will investigate it,
learn the, truth for themselves, and
accept it, or whether they will reject
it. We do not make war upon them ;
if they do not receive it, we do not
contend with them if they fail to
benefit themselves by receiving the
message that we give to them for
their own good, we only pity. Our
sympathy goes out to those who will
not receive the truth and who will
not walk in the light when the light
shines before them ; not hatred, not
enmity, not the spirit of condemna-
tion ; it is our duty to leave con-
demnation in the hands of Almighty
God. He is the only real, true,
righteous, impartial judge, and we
leave judgment in His hands. Tt is
not our business to proclaim calami-
ties, judgments, destruction and the
wrath of God upon men, if they will
not receive the truth. Let them read
the word of God, as recorded in the
Xew and the Old Testaments, and,
if they will receive it let them read
the word that has been restored
through the gift and power of God
to Joseph the Prophet, as contained
in the Doctrine and Covenants and
in the Book of Mormon. Let them
read these things, and they will learn
there, themselves, the promises that
God has made to those who will not
hearken when they hear the truth,
but will close their ear^ and their
eyes against the light. We need not
repeat these things and try to im-
pose upon the feelings and judg-

ments of men by threatening them
or by warning them against the dan-
gers and evils that may come upon
the ungodly, the disobedient, the un-
thankful, and those who will not
yield to the truth. They will learn
it soon enough, if we do not men-
tion it to them at all.

It is not a part of our business to
dwell upon these things ; our duty is
to tell the truth, preach the truth,
the peaceable things of the King-
dom of God, the way of life and
salvation, the way of repentance, the
way of righteousness, the way of
love and of dealing one with an-
other, the golden rule to do unto
others as we would that they should
do unto us, as taught by the Son of
God. The great object and duty
that devolves upon the Latter-day
Saints is to learn, each man and
each women for himself and for
herself, their individual duty as
members of the Church. Just as
soon as a man or woman learns his
and her duty to God and to those
who are members with them in the
household of faith, peace is estab-
lished, love and good will are as-
sured, no back-bitting, no fault-find-
ing, no bearing false witness against
neighbors, no strife, no contention.
For the moment that a Latter-day
Saint learns his duty, he will learn
that it is his business to make peace,
to establish good will, to work right-
eousness, to be filled with the spirit
of kindness, love, charity, and for-
giveness ; and, so far as he con-
cerned, there can be no war, no
strife, no contention, no quarreling,
no disunion ; no factions can arise
among the people who know their
duty as Latter-day Saints.

Another great and important duty
devolving upon this people is to
teach their children, from their cra-
dle until they become men and

PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.

women, every principle of the Gos-
pel, and endeavor, as far as it lies in
the power of the parents, to instil
into their hearts a love for God, the
truth, virtue, honesty, honor and in-
tegrity to every thing that is good.
That is important for all men and
women who stand at the head of a
family in the household of faith.
Teach your children the love of God.
Teach them to love the principles of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Teach
them to love their fellowmen, and
especially to love their fellow mem-
bers in the Church, that they may
be true to their fellowship with the
people of God. Teach them to
honor the priesthood, to honor the
authority that God has bestowed
upon His Church for the proper
.government of His Church. The
house of God is a house of order,
and not a house of confusion ; and
it could not be thus, if there were
not those who had authority to pre-
side, to direct, to counsel, to lead in
the affairs of the Church. No house
would be a house of order if it were
not properlv organized as the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints is organized. Take away
the organization of the Church, and
its power would cease. Every part
of its organization is necessary, and
essential to its perfect existence.
Disregard, ignore, or omit any part
and you start imperfection in the
Church ; and if we should continue
in that way we would find ourselves
like those of old, being led by error,
superstition, ignorance, and by the
cunning and craftiness of men. We
would soon leave out here a little
and there a little, here a line and
there a precept, until we would be-
come like the rest of the world,
divided, disorganized, confused, and
without knowledge, without revela-
t*»n or inspiration, and without Di-

vine authority or power. Of course,
it is very necessary that those who
preside in the Church should learn
thoroughly their duties. There is
not a man holding any position of
authority in the Church who can
perform his duty as he should in
any other spirit than in the spirit of
fatherhood and brotherhood toward
those over whom he presides. Those
who have authority should not be
rulers, nor dictators, they should not
be arbitrary, they should gain the
hearts, the confidence and the love
of those over whom they preside,
by kindness and love unfeigned, by
gentleness of spirit, by persuasion,
by an example that is above re-
proach and above the reach of un-
just criticism. In this way, in the
kindness of their hearts, in their love
for their people, they lead them in
the path of righteousness, and teach
them the way of salvation, by say-
ing to them both by precept and
example : Follow me, as I follow
our head, the Redeemer of the
world. This is the duty of those
who preside. The duty of the high
councils of the Church, when they
are called to act upon questions in-
volving the membership or standing
of members of the Church, is to find
out the truth, the facts, and then
judge according to the truth and the
facts that are brought to their un-
derstanding, always tempered with
mercy, love, and kindness, and with
the spirit in their souls to save and
not to destroy and cast out. Our
mission is to save, not destroy ; our
aim should be to build up, and not
to tear down. Our calling is to
convey the spirit of love, truth,
peace and good will to mankind
throughout the world ; that war may
cease ; that strife may come to an
end. and that peace may prevail.
I thank God. my Heavenly Father,

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

as you do, every one of you present
here today, and as do all the people
of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, that our land is
at peace as much as it is. I am sor-
ry that there should be any internal
disruptions, division, or contention
existing at all among the various
organizations of the people of our
land. I am sorry that there should
be strife. If they had the true spirit
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ they
would not have strife ; they would
cease to harbor feelings of conten-
tion and strife ; if troubles came they
would meet together and deliberate
in the spirit of wisdom, meekness
and humility, invoking the blessing
and spirit of Almighty God upon
their deliberations and counsels, and
calmly decide together upon that
which would be for the common
good, and then go as one man to do
that which is necessary to build up
the nation and the country in which
we dwell. I am glad that we have
kept out of war so far, and I hope
and pray that we may not be under
the necessity of sending our sons to
war, or experience as a nation the
distress, the anguish and sorrow
that come from a condition such as
exists upon the old continent. Oh
God, have mercy upon thy poor
children in Europe, and throughout
the world, who are brought under
the awful conditions that exist there
because of the ambition and pride of
men who claim the right and power
to dictate, even to life or death, the
conduct of the people over whom
they rule.

My brethren and sisters, God is
with you ; the Lord is with this peo-
ple ; and if we will be His children
in very deed as He is in very deed
our Father, I tell you that God will
temper the elements for your good ;
He will bless you with health ; He

will bless you with abundance : He
will bless the earth and make it
fruitful. Those who reap their har-
vest by the toil and sweat of their
brow, from mother earth, will have
bounteous harvests if they will only
serve God in their hearts and in
their outward life. I feel just as
sure of this as I do that I am stand-
ing before you here.

I do not . feel that it would lie to
my advantage, nor to yours, for me
to continue my remarks very much
longer. I have no need of course to
refer to my personal feelings and
condition ; but I have recently passed
through my share of sorrow. Nev-
ertheless the Lord has been so mer:
ciful to me, He has blessed me in
so many ways, and multiplied His
favors and mercies upon me to such
an extent that it would be shameful
for me to complain, even under the
most severe afflictions and adverse
conditions and circumstances in life.
T love truth wherever I see or find
it. I love men and women who are
virtuous and honorable. T would
love a man, no matter who he is, if
T knew that he was honest before
God. He might differ with me in
religious views, and in many other
ways : but, is he honest with his fel-
low man and with his God? If he
is, I honor him, and I love him for
his honesty.

When I think of our mothers, the
mothers of our children, and realize
that under the inspiration of the
Gospel they live virtuous, pure, hon-
orable lives, true to their husbands,
true to their children, true to their
convictions of the Gospel, oh, how
my soul goes out in pure love for
them ; how noble and how God-
given, how choice, how desirable
and how indispensable they arc to
the accomplishment of God's pur-
poses and the fulfilment of His de-

PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.

crees. My brethren, can you mis-
treat yonr wives, the mothers of
vonr children? Can you help treat-
ing- them with love and kindness?
Can )rou help trying to make their
lives as comfortable and happy as
possible, lightening their burdens to
the utmost of your ability, making
life pleasant for them and for their
children in their homes? How can
you help it ? How can any one help
feeling an intense interest in the
mother of his children, and also in
his children? If we possess the
Spirit of God. we can not do other-
wise. It is only when men depart
from the right spirit, when they
digress from their duty, that they
will neglect or dishonor any soul
that is committed to their care. They
are bound to honor their wives and
children. Intelligent men, men of
business, men of affairs, men who
are involved constantly in the labors
of life, and have to devote their en-
ergies and thought to their labors
.and duties, may not enjoy as many
comforts with their families as they
would like, but if they have the
Spirit of the Lord with them in the
performance of their temporal du-
ties, they will never neglect the
mothers of their children, nor their
children. They will not fail to teach
them the principles of life and set
before them a proper example. Don't
do anything yourselves that you
would have to say to your boy,
"Don't do it." Live so that you can
sav, "My son, do as I do, follow
me, emulate my example." That is
the wav fathers should live, every
one of us ; and it is a shame, a weak-
ening, shameful thing for any mem-
ber of the Church to pursue a course
that he knows is not right and that
he would rather his children should
not follow. What a shameful thing
it is for a man to place upon himself

an embargo, a handicap against do-
ing his full duty to those that love
him and whom he should love above
his own life, by yielding to appe-
tites that are wrong and to passions
that are base, and doing things that
he ought not to do, and that he
would feign keep his children from
doing. Do your duty, my brethren,
and the Lord will do His for you.

We want Zion to grow and be-
come strong in righteousness. We
desire the people of Zion to develop
in understanding and grow in
knowledge and become strong in
wisdom. We want you to cultivate
the spirit of mercy, of charity and
forgiveness. We want you to be
generous to the poor ; we desire that
you will guard the helpless, the
aged, and provide for them. God
has made provision in His Church,
in the complete organization of it,
so that every faithful soul in it may
be looked after and nurtured and
cared for in the hour of need. The
trouble with us at present is that
there are so many men who are
holding membership in the Church,
who neglect their duty in so many
ways, that we have not the means to
provide as amply as we would like
for the necessities of the poor. When
you look upon a tithing record, a
book of large dimensions, contain-
ing the names of members of the
Church who do not pay their tith-
ing, you do not need to wonder why
the Church has not more means to
provide for the poor. We are doing
the best we can with the means we
have. I am going to read you just
a few little things that we are doing
with the means you consecrate to
the Lord for the upbuilding of Zion.

The general Church Auditing
Committee has examined the re-
ceipts and disbursements of the
tithes of the stakes of Zion and mis-

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

sions, also the accounts of the Pre- not been indulged in very much ;
siding Bishop's Office, and the ac- but there have been so many false
counts in the office of the Trustee- charges made against me and
in-Trust. Their report will be ren- against my brethren by ignorant and
dered before the close of the confer- evilly disposed people, that I pro-
ence, I suppose. pose to make a true statement which

The following report will show will, I believe, at least have a ten-
how the tithing of the Church, for dency to convince you that we are
the year 1914, has been disbursed, trying to do our duty the best we
Now I am taking a liberty that has know how :

April 4, 1915.

The following report will show how the tithing of the Church for
the year 1914 has been disbursed :

For the erection and maintenance of stake tabernacles, ward
meeting houses, amusement halls and other stake and

ward expenses $ 730,960.00

For the maintenance of Church schools 330,984.00

For the maintenance of our Temples 64,508.00

For the erection of mission houses and general mission activ-
ities, and return fares of missionaries 227,()00.00

For the maintenance of Church buildings and Church institu-
tions, including the Temple block and the Presiding

Bishop's office 99,293.00

For the completion and maintenance of the Latter-dav Saints

Hospital 136,727.00

For the erection of the Cardston Temple 52,647.00

For the erection of the new Church office building 128,663.00

Paid to the worthy poor out of the tithing funds 1 16.238.00

$1,887,920.00

This is the entire tithing of the Church in all the world for the year 1 c> 1 -4.

The expenses of the General Authorities and the maintenance of the
office of the First Presidency are paid out of revenues derived from invest-
ments, and not out of the tithes of the Church.

In addition to the amount paid out of the tithes to the poor. .$ 1 16.238.00
there has been collected and paid to the poor by the Re-
lief Society 74.290.00

And there has been paid to the poor by the Bishops from

the fast offerings and other ward charity funds 76,000.00

Making a total paid to the poor for 1914 $ 266.528.00

There has been collected for the war sufferers, which is being

expended under the direction of President Hyrum M.

Smith, of the European Mission $ 33,000.00

Our records show that 73% of all the Latter-day Saint families resid-
ing in all the stakes of Zion own their own homes.

PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.

The birth rate of the Church for the year 1914 is 39.5 to the thousand.
The death rate for the year 1914 is 8.3 to the thousand.
Marriage rate for the year 1914 is 17 to the thousand.
During the year there were 14,717 children blessed.
There are 1,316 Elders and 115 women laboring in the missions as
missionaries.

Of the membership of the Church residing in the stakes of Zion,
319.000 were born in the United States.

There has been a net increase in the membership of the Church in the
stakes of Zion from the year 1901 to 1914 of 129,493 souls.

There are now 739 wards and 33 independent branches. There are
68 stakes of Zion and 21 missions. During the year 1914, 21 new wards
have been organized and 2 stakes of Zion.

There have been performed in the Temples during the past year,
166,909 baptisms for the living and dead, and 72,952 endowments for the
living and dead. Altogether 326,264 ordinances have been performed in
the four temples. This is a very considerable increase over any previous
year.

Ward teaching has been given considerable attention by the stake and
ward officers, with the results that in some of the stakes of Zion the work
has been so well developed that 96(/( of all the families are visited by the
ward teachers each month.

Now some people have reported
that the tithes of the Church amount
to millions every year, and Joseph F.
Smith has the absolute control of all
these millions, and never gives any
account of them to the world, nor to
anybody else. Now we are not giv-
ing this to the world ; we are giving
it to the Latter-day Saints. These
amounts which I have read, I think
it may be proper to state here, cover
the entire tithing of the Church in
all the world, for the year 1914.
Now when you come to talk about
the millions and millions of dollars
of tithing paid by the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it
is simmered down to $1,887,920, for
the year 1914, and that was an av-
erage year. I may be pardoned, per-
haps, if I say here, for the benefit of
any who do not know the facts, that
the law of tithing is a voluntary
law : that is, it imposes only a vol-
untary duty upon the people. No
person's standing as a member of

the Church, is jeopardized because
he doesn't pay his tithing. There
are a good many of us who don't
observe all the laws, and it is a good
thing that the Lord does not execute
justice and judgment upon a great
many of us because of it.

The expenses of the general au-
thorities and the maintenance of the
First Presidency are paid out of the
revenues derived from investments,
and not out of the tithes of the
Church. These investments, as a
rule, consist of contributions of
stocks of various kinds to the
Church on tithing, which have been
held by the Church ; and the divi-
dends that we derive from these
stocks and investments are for the
benefit of the people in every in-
stance, for the Church has never
made an investment that had not for
its object the benefiting of the whole
people, as far as possible, fostering
industries, and the colonization of
our country. It has been done for

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

aiding the settlers of our country,
our state and our adjoining states,
as far as possible, by assisting them
with means, to help them lay the
foundation of prosperity for them-
selves.

It just occurs to me that we are
talking to you on the Sabbath day,
and some people, perhaps, may feel
that it is somewhat out of place for
us to talk about money and tempor-
alities, about tithing, or the expendi-
ture of means and the uses made of
it, on the Sabbath day, but the Sab-
bath was made for man, and not
man for the Sabbath. God made or
designated the Sabbath day for a
day of rest, a clay of worship, a day
for goodly deeds, and for humility
and penitence, and the worship of
the Almighty in spirit and in truth.

There has been collected for the
war sufferers, which is being ex-
pended under the direction of Presi-
dent Hyrum M. Smith of the Euro-
pean Mission, $33,000. This was
done on one day, practically, a day
set apart for general contributions
for the benefit of the sufferers, in
consequence of the war. T have a
list of the names of all the stakes
of Zion and the wards which con-
tributed these means, and it was all
contributed and handled and sent to
the sufferers to lie distributed
equally and impartially, — to Latter-
day Saints, mind you, first. T want
to tell you that, we will be honest
with you ; we feel that it is the first
duty of Latter-day Saints to take
care of themselves, and of their
poor; and then, if we can extend it
to others, and as wide and as far as
we can extend charity and assistance
to others that are not members of
the Church, we feel that it is our
duty to do it. But first look after
the members of our own household.
The man who will not provide for

his own house, as one of old has
said, is worse than an infidel. So
we make no apologies for saying
that we have collected these means
for the suffering Latter-day Saints
that are afflicted because of the war,
in Germany, in Austria, in Italy, in
Switzerland, Holland and in Eng-
land and anywhere else where they
are suffering in consequence of it.
It cost the fund not one penny, not
even a postage stamp for collection.
May be you would like to know
that : there were no paid agencies,
no paid collectors. No one received
a nickel from the funds contributed
for the assistance of the afflicted
and the suffering. It was done
through the channels of the holy
priesthood, through the organization
of the Church, in the regular way,
and it has cost nobody anything.
The First Presidency received the
other day the following cable mes-
sage from the President of the Swiss
and German Mission :

"Two thousand dollar relief fund
thankfully received. Express gratitude to
God's people. Conditions satisfactory. —
VALENTINE, President Swiss and German
Mission."

We have received also a number
of returns from President Mvrum
M. Smith, but in volume, and these
returns have not been condensed, so
that they can be presented here.

Now, we have a few more state-
ments that I desire to read : Our
records show that 73^ of all the
Latter-day Saint families, residing
in all the stakes of Zion. own their
own homes. I am sorry that this
figure is not as large as it has been
in the past, but we have become
more numerous than we were when
95% of the people of the Church
owned their own little homes and
owed nothing to anybody for them.

PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.

Let me inject here, once more, my
standing admonition to the Latter-
day Saints : My brethren, see to it
that yon do not put a mortgage
upon the roof that covers the heads
of your wives and your children.
Don't do it. Don't plaster your
farms with mortgages, because it is
from your farms that you reap your
food, and the means to provide your
raiment and your other necessaries
of life. Keep your possessions free
from debt. Get out of debt as fast
as you can, and keep out of debt, for
that is the way in which the promise
of God will be fulfilled to the people
of His Church, that they will be-
come the richest of all people in the
world. But this will not happen
while you mortgage your homes and
your farms, or run into debt be-
yond your ability to meet your obli-
gations ; and thus, perhaps, your
name and credit be dishonored be-
cause you over-reached yourselves.
"Never reach farther than you can
gather," is a good motto.

From each of the newly organized
wards we have received calls to as-
sist to help build new meeting-
houses ; and so the work goes on. I
have read the figures of the hun-
dreds of thousands that we are ap-
propriating for the assistance in the
erection of meetinghouses, taberna-
cles, and amusement places for the
vouth of Zion. to keep them under
proper restraint and control.

The work in the temples has been
the largest on record. There have
been performed in the temples, dur-
ing the past year, 166.909 baptisms
for the living and dead, — an indica-
tion that we are increasing the mem-
bership of the Church very, very
much faster in the spirit-world than
we are on earth.

Now, my brethren and sisters, we
do not want to weary you with sta-

tistics. Our duty is not to deal par-
ticularly in statistics and in finan-
cial matters. Our paramount duty
is the preaching of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ, and the inculcation of
the principles of that Gospel in the
hearts and souls of all our children.
This is our duty. God bless you. I
am glad to see you here. I surely
welcome you with all my soul, and
I feel in my soul that God will bless
you for your presence here. Why
are you here? Because you are
members of the Church of Jesus
Christ. You are here because this
is the annual conference of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints. You are here because
you are members of that Church and
because you are members of the
priesthood and of the auxiliary or-
ganizations of the Church and are
all interested in the well-being, ad-
vancement, and development, spirit-
ually, intellectually, physically and
financially, and every other way, of
the people of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. God
bless you, I humbly pray, in the
name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

A soprano solo, "Christ is Risen,"
was sung by Sister Esther Davis
Stephens.

PRESIDENT ANTHON H. LUND.

Certainty of the resurrection — "Eas-
ter" an improper name for day cele-
brating the sacred event — The Pass-
over, old and new — Witnesses of the
risen Redeemer — Christ's mission to
the spirit-world — Scripture evidences
that though the body dies the spirit
lives — Universality of the resurrec-
tion— God's justice manifest in plan
of salvation for the dead.

In presenting myself before you,
and attempting to speak to you, I
ask your faith and prayers in my

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

behalf. With you I have listened
with much interest and pleasure to
the remarks of our President. He
has given us the keynote of love and
good will to one another, and asked
us to perform the duties that devolve
upon us, and I believe that we all
feel to respond to this exhortation.

The song that we have just lis-
tened to, "He is Risen," was very
appropriate, as this is Easter Sun-
day, which we celebrate in memory
of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It was a happy message that came
to the world through this event, the
resurrection, that Jesus had con-
quered death and had come forth
out of the grave.

The resurrection, the central fact
of our faith, has been doubted by a
great many, and yet He was seen
by His apostles and some of His
disciples, and by as many as five
hundred at one time. To us there is
no doubt about the resurrection. We
feel grateful to believe and know
that Christ did rise from the dead,
that He laid down His life, of Him-
self, and was able to take it again,
and thereby give us the hope, the
assurance, that resurrection will
come to all of us.

Last Thursday night was cele-
brated in memory of His instituting
the Holy Sacrament ; Friday we
commemorated His crucifixion, and
today, the first day of the week, we
celebrate His resurrection. He rose
from the grave, the crowning act of
redemption, and thus finished the
great mission given Him by His
Heavenly Father. It was at the
Jewish Passover that this great
event occurred. Here in America,
and in England, we call it Easter:
in German v they call it Ostem. Both
the English and the Germans have
named this sacred festival after a
heathen goddess. How much better

it would have been to have kept the
old name, or a derivation of it, as
in other lands, for instance in Scan-
dinavia, where it is called Paaske,
instead of a name that has no found-
ation upon holiness. Easter is one
of the variable feasts. Among Chris-
tian nations it has been thought best
to celebrate it at a time when the
feast would include Thursday. Fri-
day and Sunday. In the early days
the Christians, like the Jews, cele-
brated it on a certain day of the
month, but this has been changed to
the present custom.

I consider that this day brings to
us more joy than the commemora-
tion of any other event that has hap-
pened in the world. The Passover
was instituted to remember that a
number of the children of Israel
were saved from death by obeying a
certain command of God. namely,
that of sprinkling the blood on the
door posts ; then the angel of death
passed over, and the first-born in the
families of the Israelites was spared,
while among the Egyptians, and
those who did not obey this com-
mand, the first-born was stricken
with death. The Passover that we
commemorate today is of much
greater importance. While the old
Passover commemorated the saving
of a few. our Passover commemor-
ates the victory over death, the
bringing of life unto the w hole hu-
man race. Every son or daughter
of Adam is benefited by this great
event, because the resurrection will
come to all. Jesus voluntarily gave
His life for us. and by doing so re-
deemed us from the effects of the
fall. How grateful and thankful
we ought to be to Him.

Tn the morning of the day that
He rose from the dead. He was seen
bv some of the faithful women that
believed in ITim. and by some of the

PRESIDENT ANTHON H. LUND.

apostles. On the same day He
joined two disciples going to Em-
maus, who were very much con-
cerned about what had taken place.
Then, ''beginning at Moses and all
the prophets, He expounded unto
them" the scriptures concerning
Himself, proving that Christ should
suffer and rise again. Afterwards,
in telling about His speaking to
them, they said that their hearts
burned within them. They had not
understood the great mission that
He was to perform. That evening
His apostles had gathered in a room
with closed doors, and as they were
talking He appeared in their midst.
All but Thomas were present ; ten
of them saw Him, felt of Him, and
rejoiced that the Master was again
with them. Next Sunday, Thomas,
the doubter, seeing Jesus, was con-
vinced that He had risen. After this
Jesus met with the Apostles at Lake
Gennesaret. They received in-
structions from Him there, and
Peter was called to be the shepherd
over His flock.

While His body lay in the grave
we are told that He went to the
spirits in prison, and preached unto
them. Luther in his little catechism
said that Jesus went down to hell,
and on the third day rose from the
dead. Peter informs us of what He
did during the time that He was in
the spirit-world. The word "hell,"
as it occurs in the New Testament,
has been translated from three dif-
ferent words : Gehenna, Hades, and
Tartarus. Whenever the word
"Gehenna" is used it always means
a place of torture, conveying the real
meaning of the word "hell" to us.
The other word is "Llades," which
could have been translated better
perhaps by the compound word
"spirit- world." The Greeks under-
stood the word to mean the realm of

Pluto, or the place for the shades of
departed ones, and in the latter sense
it is used in the scriptures. We read
in the Bible that "death and hell"
should give up their dead, and in
the Book of Mormon we read a sim-
ilar statement. Hell does not mean
the place of torture to which the
wicked will be assigned at the great
judgment, though those who have
been wicked, and transgressed the
law here, are not apt to be very
happy in the spirit-world.

Many people deny that the spirit
lives, and can think and act between
death and the resurrection. They
who hold this opinion quote what
the preacher says in the Book of
Ecclesiastes, that "the living know
that they shall die, but the dead
know not anything ;" and in another
verse in the same chapter he says,
"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do.
do with all thy might, for there is
no work, nor device, nor knowledge,
nor wisdom in the grave whither
thou goest." And so they conclude
that spirit and body sleep in the
grave untij the day of resurrection.
Not long ago I read a tract upon
this subject in which the author rid-
iculed the idea of the spirits going
to the spirit-world, and he declared
that there is no such thing as a hu-
man spirit. Now, what did the
preacher mean? Did he mean that
the spirit and the body lay in the
grave slumbering, and hence there is
"no knowledge, no wisdom, in the
grave" and that "the dead know-
not anything?" No, I firmly believe
that he alluded o'nly to the body : the
body is laid in the grave and it does
not know anything, for the part of
man that knows, thinks and wills,
has left. And that this was really his
meaning I take from another of his
sayings : "Then shall the dust re-
turn to the earth as it was, and the

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

spirit shall return unto God that
gave it." Now, this is said by the
same man who wrote the above quo-
tations, which are used so often
against the doctrine of an interme-
diate state between death and the
resurrection. He declares that the
spirit shall return to God who gave
it ; consequently, he could not have
included the spirit in his statement
that "the dead know not anything;"
he alluded to that part only that was
laid in the grave.

Alma is very plain on the subject
of an intermediate state. He tells us
that the spirits of the righteous go
to a place in the spirit-world called
Paradise, a place of joy and happi-
ness ; and that the wicked go to a
place by themselves also, where thev
are suffering in the knowledge of
the judgment that is coming. Now,
when Jesus' spirit left His body, it
went to Hades, but I believe it went
to Paradise first, for He said to the
repentant thief upon the cross, "To-
day shalt thou be with me in Para-
dise." No doubt He went there, and
first of all informed those who had
served God and been righteous, and
whose day of resurrection perhaps
was near, of what he had been able
to accomplish, that He had fulfilled
His mission, had overcome death,
and thereby brought the hope to all
that they should be resurrected.
After this, He went on the glorious
mission to preach to the spirits in
prison, those who at one time were
disobedient, and had rejected the
gospel preached by Noah. His mis-
sion was to proclaim liberty to the
captives, open the prison doors to
them that were bound. He read
from the scroll handed to Him in
the synagogue at Nazareth — the first
verses of the 61st chapter of Isaiah
— and they describe His own mis-

sion, and allude to the work He was
to perform. He brought joy to
thousands who had so long been
confined, and had suffered for their
rejection of the gospel.

When He was resurrected, Mary
discovered that He was the Master,
and wanted to worship Him, but He
told her not to touch Him for He
had not yet been with the Father.
We understand where He had been
and the work He had done, for His.
mission was not only to the few that
heard Him on earth, but to all both
living and dead ; He said Himself,
"the hour is coming, in the which all
that are in their graves shall hear
His voice." His mission was for all
that should come upon the earth,
and to all of them He brought re-
lease from the bands of death, and
He bestowed on all the precious
blessing of the resurrection. But
the resurrection will not be the same
to all. for they who have done good
will come forth unto the resurrec-
tion of life, and they that have done
evil will come forth unto the resur-
rection of damnation. This we are
told in the words of the Savior
Himself.

Now, we rejoice here today in
dwelling upon this great event. We
feel that it was true, what the
Prophet Joseph received by revela-
tion and gave to us concerning the
resurrection and salvation for the
dead. This doctrine gives a satis-
factory explanation of the justice of
God. If it be true, what many in
the world believe, that only the few
that hear the doctrine of Christ and
receive it should be saved, and that
all the other myriads who come upon
the earth should be condemned, be-
cause they had not heard His name,
then it looks very unjust. But when
we remember what Peter says, that

BISHOP ORRIN P. MILLER.

the dead should hear the Gospel,
that they might be judged accord-
ing to men in the flesh, we begin to
understand the justice of God. The
Gospel will be preached to all ; every
one shall hear of the Mission of
Christ, and shall have a chance
either to receive or reject, whether
living upon the earth or whether
they have departed. How broad is
the platform of salvation ! The Lord
is just to all, and no one coming be-
fore His judgment seat shall be able
to say that he has not been dealt
with justly.

Now. brethren and sisters, I see
the time allotted is past. I rejoice
to be with you ; I rejoice in the
Gospel as preached to us; I rejoice
in the restoration of the Gospel and
in knowing that Joseph Smith was a
Prophet of God. May the Lord
bless us all, I ask in the name of
Jesus. Amen.

President Smith stated that an-
other overflow meeting will be held
in the Assembly Hall, at 2 p. m., at
which Elder Joseph F. Smith, Jr.,
will preside ; also an outdoor meet-
ing", in front of the Bureau of Infor-
mation, at the same hour, under di-
rection of Elder George F. Rich-
ards. He also announced that ar-
rangements have been made, by the
Presiding Bishopric, to furnish ac-
commodations to Conference visitors
who are not otherwise provided for.

"Rock of Ages," a soprano solo,
was rendered by Sister Lily Shipp.

The choir sang the anthem, "Song
of the Redeemed."

Benediction was pronounced by
Elder Lewis Anderson.

Conference adjourned until 2
p. m.

OVERFLOW MEETING.

An overflow session of the Con-
ference was held in the Assembly
Hall, adjoining the Tabernacle, at
10 a. m. The services were presided
over by Elder Rudger Clawson, and
the Cottonwood Stake Choir, under
direction of Manasseh Smith, fur-
nished the music.

The Choir sang the hymn :

Come, dearest Lord, descend and
dwell,

By faith and love, in every breast;
Then shall we know, and taste,, and
feel

The joys that cannot be expressed.

The invocation was offered by
Elder John R. Barnes.
The choir sang the hymn :

As the dew, from heaven distilling,
Gently on the grass descends,

And revives it, thus fulfilling
What Thy providence intends.

BISHOP ORRIN P. MILLER.

(Of the Presiding Bishopric.)

It is a great surprise to me, my
beloved brethren and sisters, to be
called upon to address you for a few
moments upon this occasion. My
heart is full of gratitude to my
Heavenly Father for this privilege,
especially, of meeting with so many
of the Latter-day Saints, and that
we are assembled on such a beau-
tiful Sabbath morning. The bosom
of the earth having been refreshed
by showers of rain, and then the
sunshine, brings to our hearts
thanksgiving and rejoicing, that we
have such glorious conditions in
coming together to worship the
Lord.

When we think that this is Easter

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

Sunday, a very important day to us
Latter-day Saints, with the views
we have of the life of the Savior, it
brings to us rejoicing and thanks-
giving. Our hearts bound with hap-
piness when we realize that we have
been established in these valleys, in
the fastnesses of the Rocky Moun-
tains, according to the predictions
of ancient as well as modern proph-
ets. O what joy it brings to us when
we see the tens of thousands of
honest-hearted, devoted people as-
sembling together this morning to
worship the Lord, and to be taught
of His ways, that we might walk in
the path which He has marked out
for us as His children. We could
not help but repoice at this, and
our hearts are made glad because
we have confidence in those that are
leading us as prophets, seers, and
revelators, in this the dispensation
of the fulness of times.

The great number of people that
have gathered together upon this oc-
casion have come from the various
stakes of Zion, sixty-seven stakes
now organized, and different states
of the Union. I presume every stake
in the Church is here represented ; I
have noticed individuals from Can-
ada on the north to Arizona and
Old Mexico on the south, and T take
it that all have come to headquar-
ters, to the present center stake, that
we may be taught of the wars and
laws of the Lord, that we might be
able to walk in His paths, and re-
main true and faithful unto the end.

What joy and satisfaction these
thoughts bring to us, when we look
back over the history of our people.
In looking over this congregation,
we see pioneers who blazed the way
across the desert and came inte
these valleys many years ago, and
helped to establish the ensign that
was spoken of by one of the ancient

prophets, that should be established
in the tops of the mountains, in the
midst of the everlasting hills, and all
nations should flow into it. We feel
to rejoice that these prophecies are
being fulfilled, and that we. the off-
spring of those great pioneers, are
enjoying these blessings, the fruits
of their labor. When we reflect
upon the conditions that confronted
them when they came into the^e val-
leys ; nothing but a barren waste,
not a beautiful shrub or a tree, ex-
cept the few that nature had pro-
duced, the valley being desolate and
barren, and the only human asso-
ciate that they had, beside them-
selves, was the Lamanite or native
Indian ; and the howl of the coyote
was heard on the plains and the
prairies. When we look now at the
condition of our people, luxury and
ease evident in every valley in the
fastnesses of the Rocky Mountains,
and we are enjoying the best and
happiest and most prosperous times
that have ever come to our people
since the settlement of these valleys ;
and when we reflect that many were
buried upon the plains on the jour-
ney from the Missouri "River — my
grandfather was buried out on the
lonely desert, rolled up in a blanket
and put into a shallow grave — when
T reflect upon these things. T feel
grateful to God for the blessings
that have come to us.

I feel like Neohi of old. full of
gratitude and praise to my Heavenly
Father, that T have been born of
goodly parents, and that T have been
taught in the ways of the Lord,
that T might appreciate His bless-
ings. And O how I rejoice that the
hearts of my parents were touched
when the humble elder came to them
in their native country and preached
unto them the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, as we understand and enjoy

BISHOP ORRIN P. MILLER.

it this day. We rejoice in these
things because we understand and
comprehend them. My parents re-
ceived the Gospel in their native
country, one of them across the
ocean, in the land of the troubled
nations of today, and their coming
to this blessed country made it pos-
sible for me to be present with you
upon this occasion. Why should we
not rejoice when we realize these
things.

And now, my young brethren and
sisters, you who have been born in
these valleys, born "under the drop-
pings of the sanctuary," heirs to the
holy priesthood in the new and ever-
lasting covenant which God has es-
tablished in the earth, how we
should rejoice in these things, and
always be grateful and willing to
bear our testimony to the great
blessings which the Lord has given
unto ns as His children. How we
venerate the names and the mem-
ories of our aged parents. We do
not need to hire men to teach us, and
to proclaim to us that the Gospel is
true ; thousands of white-haired vet-
erans could stand up in the congre-
gations of the Saints today, should
the President ask them, yea, ten
thousand of them could rise up and
proclaim in power and authority,
but in a humble spirit, that they
know Jesus is the Christ and that
Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.
We have been taught this truth, and
have received a knowledge of it, we
have received the Holy Ghost, and
that testimony has come to us, hav-
ing obeyed the law upon which these
blessings are predicated. It is not
guess-work with us ; we know it for
a surety, we have been converted
and convinced of these truths. We
have been baptized in water, the
same as the Savior was baptized by
John, and we have come forth out of

the water, and had hands laid upon
us for the reception of the Holy
Ghost, and the Holy Ghost has come
to us, and it has been as the prom-
ises said, a constant companion and
guide to us, a monitor of righteous-
ness and truth, that shall remain
with us forever, if we are faithful.
These truths abide in our hearts ;
we know they are true, no matter
what the world may say about us
Latter-clay Saints.

I desire to bear my testimony to
the principles of the Gospel as they
have been revealed to us. I have
endeavored in my youth to accept
every one of them, as the Prophet
has revealed them ; and I bear my
testimony to you that he has re-
vealed no untruth, but everything
that he has revealed has been the
truth, and truth is mighty and will
prevail. The Latter-day Saints can
truly sing the beautiful hymn,

"High on the mountain top truth's ban-
ner is unfurled,

Ye nations, now look up, it waves to all
the world."

May the Lord bless us is my
prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

ELDER CHARLES H. HART.

( Of First Council of Seventy.)

I rejoice with you, my brethren
and sisters and friends, in the glory
and beauty of this beautiful Easter
morn, and for the hope and the as-
surance which it brings unto us. It
has been nearly eighty-five years
now since the inauguration of these
conferences, such as we are partici-
pating in today. And during that
time the people of the Church have
become firmly established in the
faith. They have stronger assur-
ances and more evidences of the

GENERAL CONFERENCE

divinity of the work than ever be-
fore.

Men have examined, from the
standpoint of reason and philosophy,
in later years as never before per-
haps in the history of the world, the
great problems of life, particularly
the immortality of the spirit. And
it is interesting for us to know that
their deductions are in confirmation
of the teachings of the Church. I
rejoice with you that our Heavenly
Father sent His only begotten Son
in the flesh to dwell upon the earth,
and to give us an example of the
perfect life, and also that He per-
mitted that He should die for the
sins of the world, and that He might
be resurrected, as a concrete ex-
ample of the great doctrine of the
immortality of the spirit and the
resurrection of the body.

In the examination of this ques-
tion of the immortality of the spirit,
from the standpoint of reason and
science and philosophy, men have
considered the analogies we find in
nature to those of the resurrection,
and I think that the argument has
not been stated more beautifully
than by the present Secretary of this
great Republic of ours. His words
are familiar to many of you. They
may seem trite even to some of you
who are very familiar with them,
but I think it would not be inappro-
priate upon this Easter morn, to
read this brief and concise argu-
ment, by way of analogy with things
we find in nature. He says :

"If the Father deign to touch with
divine power the cold and pulseless
heart of the buried acorn, and to make
it burst forth from its prison walls
with new life, will He refuse the word
of hope to the sons of men when the
frost of winter comes? If matter,
mute and inanimate, when touched by
the forces of nature to a multitude of
forms can never die, will the spirit of

man surfer annihilation when it has
paid a brief visit, like a royal guest,
to this tenement of clay? No, I am
as sure that there is another life as I
am that I live this day. In Cairo I
secured a few grains of wheat that had
slumbered for more than three thous-
and years in an Egyptian tomb. As I
looked upon them this thought came
into my mind: If one of these grains
had been planted on the banks of the
Nile the year after it grew, and if all
its lineal descendants had been planted
and replanted from that time till now,
its progeny now would be sufficiently
numerous to feed the teeming millions
of the world. There is in a grain of
wheat an invisible something that has
power to discard the body which we
see, and from earth and air fashion a
new body so much like that one that
we cannot tell the one from the other.
And if this invisible germ of life in
the grain of wheat can thus pass un-
numbered through three thousand res-
urrections, I shall not doubt that my
soul has power to clothe itself with a
body suited to its new existence, when
this earthly form has crumbled into
dust. If He stoops to give the rose-
bush, whose withered blossoms float
upon the autumn breeze, the sweet as-
surance of another springtime, will He
refuse the words of hope to the sons
of men when the frosts of winter
come? Will He leave neglected in the
earth the soul of man made in the
image of his Creator?

In a little while we shall see the
worm weave about itself a shroud, and
appear lifeless. But not so. In a short
time the cerement will be broken, and
instead of the ugly worm, a beautiful
winged creature will burst from the
prison house, and with beautiful wings
will flit from flower to flower.

Some one has stated this argu-
ment in the form of a question
which really answers itself: "Shall
man alone, for whom all else sur-
vives, no resurrection know? Shall
man alone, imperial man, be sown
in barren ground, less privileged
than the grain on which he feeds?"
As I say, the question really con-
veys its own answer.

ELDER CHARLES H. HART.

But philosophers have gone
deeper than these mere analogies of
nature, and they have examined the
arguments made of old to test them
and to see whether they hold good
in the light of modern reason and
science. The lines of the poet Addi-
son, which immortalize the argu-
ment of Plato, have been so exam-
ined. Addison says :

"Plato, thou reasonest well; it must
be so" — [That is, it must be that the
spirit is immortal, and survives the
death of the body.]
Else whence this pleasing hope,
This fond desire, this longing after im-
mortality?
Why shrinks the soul back upon itself,
And startles at destruction? Or
whence

This secret dread and inward horror
of falling into naught?"

And he answers:

" 'Tis the divinity that stirs within us.
'Tis heaven itself that points out an

hereafter.
And intimates eternity to man;
Eternity, thou dreadful pleasing

thought."

As I say, the argument of the
philosopher Plato embodied in these
lines of the poet has been re-exam-
ined, and has been found to be
sound. Of course there would not
be planted in the human soul for a
vain purpose the strongest desire
that exists. It would not be planted
there only to be mocked.

One of the syllogysms upon the
subject of the immortality of the
spirit has for its terms the assump-
tion of a reasonable universe, of a
perfect Deity, and of the high value
of human life. And. assuming these
premises, then the conclusion fol-
lows, with almost inevitable neces-
sity, that man was not given life for
a mere day. If we predicate the
existence of a rational universe, peo-

pled with creatures whose life is of
high value, presided over by an all-
wise and perfect Father, then we can
conclude that we are not mere
creatures of a day, that we are not
chance creatures, to live for a brief
span and then pass into nothing-
ness ; but we can rely upon the con-
viction that came to the Prophet Job
of old, when he exclaimed : "I know
that my Redeemer liveth and that
He shall stand at the latter day upon
the earth, and though after my skin
worms destroy this body, yet in my
flesh shall I see God."

And why should there not be a
resurrection of the body? Why
should we not believe that the spirit
is immortal? One of the greatest
philosophers that America has pro-
duced, John Fisk, in a work dedi-
cated to his own children, makes the
assertion that the assumption which
some people indulge, that the spirit
does not survive the death of the
body is the most colossal instance of
baseless assumption known to all the
history of philosophy.

One Dickinson, a European chem-
ist, speaking on this question at
Harvard, giving one of the so-called
Ingersoll lectures on immortality,
says that it is mere dogmatism to
say that the soul does not survive
the death of the body, and that it is
mere prejudice or inertia to declare
that we cannot determine whether
or not the soul does survive the
death of the body. He and other
philosophers use the word "soul" in
the same sense as the word "spirit"
is used by the Latter-day Saints.

A short time ago, in Great Brit-
ain, there was assembled a notable
gathering of scientists and philoso-
phers, the first in the British king-
dom, who came to hear one of their
number, Sir Oliver Lodge, speak on
this subject. After a very careful

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

examination from a scientific and
philosophical viewpoint of this sub-
ject of the immortality of the spirit,
Sir Oliver Lodge said, "Already the
facts so examined have convinced
me that memory and affection are
not limited to that association with
matter by which alone they can man-
ifest themselves here and now, and
that personality persists beyond the
bodily death. The evidence to my
mind goes to prove that discarnate
intelligence under certain conditions
may interact with us."

Investigations along that line by
this philosopher and many of his as-
sociates have firmly convinced them
of this great underlying doctrine of
Christianity, the immortality of the
spirit, or as they express it, the im-
mortality of the soul.

There have been many books
written in recent times upon this
subject. Professor Schuler of Har-
vard has a book on the Individual,
in which he treats upon the persist-
ency and endurance of this thing we
call the individual.

The poet Tennyson exclaims :

"O human will that shall endure
When all that seems shall suffer shock."

Why should not the spirit and the
body be immortal? They are com-
posed of immortal elements. There
is no doctrine better established in
science than that of the conservation
of energy ; that energy, coarse, or-
dinary energy, cannot be annihi-
lated. And what excuse would
there be to suppose then that the
form of energy, the highest known
to the universe, the individual,
should ever perish. Matter is also
imperishable. There is no doctrine
better established in science today
than that matter cannot be annihi-
lated. The particles of which our
bodies are composed are immortal ;

they cannot be destroyed. The form
may be changed, but the particles
themselves can never be annihilated.
And it is the promise of the Father,
as exemplified in the life of the
Lord and Master, that these im-
mortal elements shall be inseparably
connected with the spirit ; that mor-
tality, that corruption shall be
clothed upon with incorruption. One
writer of comparatively recent times
publishes a book, entitled, "The
Scientific Demonstration of a Fu-
ture Life," in which he undertakes
to prove as a matter of science that
the spirit survives the death of the
body. It would not be profitable to
take your time to go into the con-
tents of this book by Mr. Hudson,
a' psychologist of some standing.
His argument is based upon the
thought that there are some faculties
of the human being that do not
naturally function themselves in this
life, and his argument is that there
must needs be a future life for these
same faculties to naturally function
themselves.

We are accustomed to associate
the manifestations of the spirit with
the body in which it appears, and it
is difficult for us to dissociate in our
thoughts the combination that we
have been thus accustomed to.
United States District Judge Cross-
cup, in an argument some years ago
with Prof. Haeckel, (who is said to
be the only materialist today who
has delved deeply into psychological
phenomena and not convinced him-
self of the immortality of the spirit)
Judge Crosscup says that if one's
knowledge of the human voice were
associated only with the telephone,
if all one's information of the hu-
man voice, or of singing, had come
to him by way of the telephone, it
would be a very natural thing for
him to associate the human voice

ELDER REY L. PRATT.

with the telephone, and for him to
erroneously conclude that if that
instrument were destroyed that the
human voice itself would cease.
And he says — that it is no more rea-
sonable to assume that the mani-
festations of the spirit are thus in-
separably connected with the human
body, than to conclude in the cir-
cumstances supposed that the hu-
man voice is inseparably connected
with the telephone.

Philosophers have gone into the
question of the relation of the brain
to thought, and have discussed the
question whether thought is a func-
tion of the brain and some have con-
cluded that if thought can be in any
sense considered a function of the
brain it is not a function of the
brain in the sense that steam is a
function of the tea kettle, but rather
it is a permissive function or trans-
missive function such as these panes
of glass perform in transmitting the.
rays of light and heat into this room.
If the medium is obscured, the
function will be imperfectly per-
formed, and yet the window glass
is not the creator of the light. Be-
yond the pane of glass is the great
orb of day, and while this medium
performs that function, either
perfectly or imperfectly, according
to its nature and condition of clean-
liness, still the sun and not the glass
is the source of light and heat. So
the brain is a medium through
which the spirit manifests itself.

But I rejoice with you, my
brethren and sisters, that it is not
necessary for us to go to the, reason-
ing of science, or the deductions of
philosophy for assurance upon this
subject. It may be of interest, par-
ticularly to the young who may not
be as firmly founded in the truth
as some of the older brethren and
sisters are. But with the older por-

tion, they know that the Lord lives,
that this is His Church, that we are
His children, that Jesus is the
Christ, and that He laid down His
life in redemption of His children,
and at the same time gave us the
concrete assurance, that the body
does not absolutely perish with its
seeming death, that we can say of
the apparently lifeless body, "not
dead but sleeping," and be assured
that the spirit of man endures, and
shall endure for all the ages to come.

May the Lord bless us, and keep
us in the faith, and in the guiding,
sustaining and blessed assurances
which the Gospel gives unto us, is
my prayer in the name of Jesus.
Amen.

A double quartet of ladies, of
Taylorsville ward choir, sang,
"Easter Morn."

ELDER REY L. PRATT.

(President of Mexican Mission.)

I am happy, my brethren and sis-
ters, to meet with you today in con-
ference, and I sincerely trust that
during the few moments I occupy I
may have the Spirit of the Lord to
direct my remarks ; and I ask you
to give me your sympathy, your
faith and prayers, that the Lord may
aid me. I fully realize that to preach
the gospel to a congregation, be they
Latter-day Saints or people of the
world, without the Spirit of God to
direct, one is unable to preach the
Gospel in a way that would be in-
structive, and that would be accept-
able to our Father in heaven.

Brethren and sisters, we are truly
a remarkable people, and this great
gathering today attests the remark-
ableness of the Latter-day work, es-
tablished through the instrumental-

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

ity of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The lives of the great body of re-
ligious worshipers, known as the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints, attest the fact that they
are a peculiar people, that they are
not of the world. This is exactly as
it should be, for the Savior said to
His disciples, when He labored with
them, that if they were of the world
the world would love its own, but
because they were not of the world
they were despised by the world.

Our peculiarity consists in differ-
ent purposes, in a different outlook
for the future, in different aspira-
tions, in different habits in life. If
we are living up to the professions
that we make, our lives are cleaner
and better than those of the world
that surround us. The Savior said
to His disciples, when He was with
them, that if their righteousness did
not exceed the righteousness of the
scribes and the pharisees, in no man-
ner should they inherit the kingdom
of heaven. The same is true today ;
with the great knowledge that we
have of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
and with the revelations we have re-
ceived of the Lord as to how we
ought to conduct our lives, if our
righteousness is not greater than
the righteousness of the people that
have not received these things, I
should say, in the words of the
Savior, that in no wise can we in-
herit the kingdom of our Father in
heaven.

We are living, brethren and sis-
ters, in a day of the fulfillment of
prophecy. I will read to you just
a little from the 24th chapter of
Matthew. Speaking of the Savior,
it says :

"And as He sat upon the Mount of
Olives, the disciples came unto Him
privately, saying: Tell us when these
things shall be? And what shall be

the sign of Thy coming and of the end
of the world? And Jesus answered
and said unto them: Take heed that
no man deceive you, for many shall
come in My name, saying I am the
Christ, and shall deceive many. And
ye shall hear of wars and rumors of
wars; see that ye be not troubled, for
all these things must come to pass,
but the end is not yet. For nation
shall rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom, and there shall be
famines and pestilences and earth-
quakes in divers places. All these are
the beginning of sorrows. Then shall
they deliver you up to be afflicted, and
shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of
all nations, for my name's sake. And
then shall many be offended, and shall
bestray one another, and shall hate
one another. And many false prophets
shall rise, and shall deceive many. And
because iniquity shall abound the love
of many shall wax cold. But he that
shall endure to the end, the same shall
be saved."

It is not my purpose to particu-
larly call your attention to this part
of the Savior's prophecies that we
are w itnessing the fulfillment of, for
many things have occurred, since
the great war in Europe began, that
signify the fact, that the great con-
flict that is going on in the world,
and the great earthquakes that have
taken place during our short lives,
the remarkable manifestations of
those great calamities in the earth
directly prove that they are the ful-
fillment of the prophecies of the
Lord. I shall, however, during the
short time that I stand before you,
call your attention to another part
of the prophecies of the Lord, that
pertain particularly to us as a peo-
ple, and that concern us even more
than the destruction that is going on
in Europe : it is contained in verse
14 of the same chapter: "And this
gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in all the world for a wit-
ness unto all nations, and then shall
the end come."

ELDER REY L. PRATT.

This has been, in some measure,
fulfilled. This gospel of the king-
dom has been set up in these latter
days, with all of the gifts and powers
that ever pertained to it in any dis-
pensation in which it has been upon
the earth, and it has been preached
in many of the nations of the earth.
But still there is a great work lying
before this people in carrying the
gospel of salvation unto millions
who have never intelligently under-
stood the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
They have believed in false doc-
trines, and have followed after
teachers who have taught for doc-
trines the commandments of men.
They have not come in contact with
the sweet spirit that emanates from
a missionary clothed with the power
of the holy priesthood to preach the
Gospel of faith in God, the Father,
in His Son Jesus Christ, and in the
atonement, (which was so beauti-
fully illustrated in the remarks made
this morning by Brother Hart,) and
of faith unto repentance, and bap-
tism for the remission of sin. Mil-
lions of people have never had these
things brought aright to their atten-
tion as the Lord has destined that
it should be. It is our mission as a
people, to preach this gospel to the
world ; and we should enthuse our
brethren with the desire to carry
this message to those millions that
do not know the truth. There are
thousands of men in this Church, as
stated by Bishop Miller, that are in
every way capable of delivering to
the world the truth in regard to the
religion that will save them ; there
are men in this congregation that
could do this work effectively and
well. But, are our minds led out
along this line? are we thinking of
the great work that devolves upon
us? are we shaping our affairs to
that end? I refer particularly to

members of the Seventies' quorums,
as they are expected to be minute
men in the work of preaching the
Gospel to the nations of the world.
Are you preparing yourselves, and
shaping your affairs so that when
the call comes you can be ambassa-
dors of life and salvation to people
that know not the truth?

This gospel is given to the world
for the salvation of all mankind,
providing they will live according
to its. principles. But, how can they
belive in Christ of whom they have
not heard, and how can they hear
except authorized ministers be sent
to teach them that Christ is the
means of salvation to the world ? It
devolves upon us who have received
the truth to take it to the world. It
is not to be taken to one nation only,
it is to be taken to all the nations
of the world, according to the word
of the Savior that I have read here.
It is a common thing for many peo-
ple to become narrow-minded. It
was a common affliction among the
converted Jews, they believed that
the Savior's mission was particular-
ly to them, and they believed that
outside of them there was no fav-
ored people of the Lord. It took a
revelation from the Lord, and a
great manifestation to Peter to con-
vince him that the Gospel was also
to the Gentiles, and that it was not
for him to call unclean that that the
Lord had said was clean. My breth-
ren and sisters, this work is not only
to the people of the same nation and
race as ourselves, it is our mission
to carry this message of salvation to
all the world. Let us take into con-
sideration that all mankind are the
children of our Father in heaven^
and all mankind will have, accord-
ing to the unchangeable decrees of"
our Father in heaven, the privileges,
of coming into His kingdom,

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

through this gospel that we have re-
ceived. Peter said that he knew of
a certainty, after he had received
that great manifestation, that God
was no respecter of persons, but
that, out of every nation, he that
would obey Him, and work right-
eousness, would be accepted of
Him ; and that is just as true today
as it ever was. True it is that there
are some nations less favored of the
Lord than others. If you will read
the history of those people, and the
hand dealings of the Lord with
them, you will find that their present
conditions are a result of their fail-
ure to receive the Gospel when it
has been proclaimed unto them, but,
in every instance, you will also find
that God's justice has been manifest
unto the people. This is particularly
true of the people with whom T am
laboring, the Lamanites. They have
been brought to the condition in
which they are today because of dis-
obedience in the past. Rut the Lord
has said He would, in His own due
time, give them another trial, an-
other chance. If you will take the
time to read it, you will discover
that the word of the Lord should go
to them, from the Gentile nations
to bring them back to a knowledge
of the Christ.

I do not desire, my brethren and
sisters, to occupy much more of the
time this morning ; but I wish to
emphasize the fact that the Lord
will fulfill His promises, and that in
His own way, in His own time, and
just as is shown very plainly in III
Nephi, in the Book of Mormon, I
wish to read a few words to show
'that the Lord will fulfill all of His
promises to His children, but He
will do it in His own way. It is well
for us to accept the Lord's way. and
make ourselves willing and ready to
work in it.

And now, behold, I say unto you
that when the Lord shall see fit in
His wisdom that these sayings shall
come unto the Gentiles, according to
His word, then ye may know that the
covenant which the Father hath made
with the children of Israel, concern-
ing their restoration to the lands of
their inheritance, is already beginning
to be fulfilled; and ye may know that
the words of the Lord which have
been spoken by the holy prophets
shall all be fulfilled; and ve need not
say that the Lord delays His coming
unto the children of Israel; and ye
need not imagine in your hearts that
the words which have been spoken
are vain, for behold, the Lord will re-
member His covenant which He hath
made unto His people of the house
of Israel. And when ye shall see these
things coming forth among you, then
ye need not any longer spurn at the
doings of the Lord, for the sword of
His justice is in His right hand, and
behold at that day, if ye shall spurn
at His doings, He will cause that it
shall soon overtake you. Wo unto
him that spurneth at the doings of
the Lord; yea, woe unto him that shall
deny the Christ and His works; yea,
woe unto him that shall deny the rev-
elations of the Lord, and that shall
say the Lord no longer worketh by
revelation or by prophecy, or by gifts,
or by tongues, or by healings, or by
the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, and
woe unto him that shall say at that
day, to get gain, that there can be no
miracle wrought by Jesus Christ; for
he that doeth this shall become like
unto the son of perdition, for whom
there was no mercy, according to the
word of Christ. Yea. and ye need
not any longer hiss, nor spurn, nor
make game of the Jews, nor any of'
the remnant of the House of Tsrael,
for behold the Lord remembereth His
covenant unto them, and He will do
unto them according to that which He
hrtth sworn. Therefore ye need not
suppose that ye can turn the right
hand of the Lord unto the left, that
lie may not execute judgment unto
the house of Tsrael." (Ill Nephi,
29 chapter.)

How many arc there of us who
are entirely guiltless of the things
that the Lord has told in this chap-

ELDER ANDREW JEN SON.

ter that we should not do? How
many of us are entirely guiltless of
looking down upon the Jews and
upon certain branches of the House
of Israel, and how many of us are
there that do not believe implicitly
in our hearts that the Lord is going
to fulfill these mighty and, as they
look to us, almost impossible prom-
ises unto those people?

1 testify to you, my brethren and
sisters, that this word is true, and
this book brought forth by the in-
strumentality of Joseph Smith, is a
revelation of God unto the world.
And I testify that I know that
Joseph Smith was a prophet of
God. I know that, through the
power which God gave him, He
established this Church, and it shall
not be taken away again, but it will
go on to perfection, and those who
do not go with it will be lost, be-
cause the Church is not going to
be left to any other people. I
testify, furthermore, that I know
that those who have governed the
Church, and led us up to the pres-
ent time, have been inspired of God.
I testify that I have received man-
ifestations, that Joseph F. Smith,
who presides over this conference,
and the Church, at the present time,
is a man inspired of God, and he
leads this Church by the inspiration
and Spirit of the Almighty. When
I have heard criticism, I have told
the critics that their criticism will
bring them condemnation if they do
not repent. God will not permit His
servant to guide this Church into
error, it is going to be guided to
success. Again I say, Joseph F.
Smith is inspired of the Lord in
what he does in the government of
this Church. May the Lord help
us to realize our duties in this
Church, and perform them faith-

fully, is my prayer in the name of
Jesus. Amen.

"O Divine Redeemer," was sung
by Sister Ada Russell.

ELDER ANDREW JENSON.

(Assistant Church Historian.)

The limited time at my command
will only permit me to express a
thought which has come to me while
the brethren have been speaking to
us. It may be based upon the say-
ing of the Savior, when He, in His
famous sermon on the mount,
speaks as follows: "Ye shall know
them by their fruits. Do men gather
grapes of thorns or figs of thistles?
Even so every good tree bringeth
forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree
bringeth forth evil fruit."

The successful affairs of this life
are as a rule made up of happy
mediums. To illustrate : If a man
spends his money in a very liberal
and imprudent way, we call him a
spendthrift. If he is too close with
his means, we are tempted to call
him a miser. We admire the happy
medium when a man is neither a
spnedthrift nor a miser. Again we
sometimes find men who to all ap-
pearances are too self-important,
who assume a certain extreme dig-
nity, which conveys the idea to
others, that they consider themselves
better than other people. As a con-
trast to these we find people who,
figuratively speaking, crawl in a
hole, who are 'too modest, who dare
not assert themselves in anything,
and who dare not step to the front
to show their real ability and the
talent which God has given them.
These are two extremes which most
people do not admire. We like a
man who does not exhibit either of

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

these extremes — who is not too
modest, nor too much inclined to
self-assertion. Most of the successes
which the human race have achieved
in any of the affairs of life have been
based on a happy medium.

The Latter-day Saints are by most
unprejudiced people referred to as
a good and honest community.
Sometimes, perhaps, we may over-
draw the mark in regard to our own
virtues and goodness. But true it is
that we are not the people that our
enemies claim that we are, when
they endeavor to paint us black, and
make us appear real wicked. Per-
haps at times we go to the extreme
in doting on and speaking of our
purity and virtues, for even in that
regard there is necessarily a happy
medium and a certain way of get-
ting at the truth.

I have given this matter quite se-
rious attention while I, during the
past years, and particularly during
the last few months, have been bus-
ily engaged in perusing the history
of the Church, or recording the ac-
tions of the Latter-day Saints in
these valleys. I have patiently gath-
ered together the events of each day
in regular chronological succession
from the very day the pioneers first
arrived in the Valley of the Great
Salt Lake in July, 1847, to the close
of the Nineteenth Century, and I
find this truth proven beyond all
doubt and beyond every attempt at
successful contradiction, that there
has from the beginning been a great
difference in the general morals of
the Latter-day Saints when they
have been alone in these mountains
and when they have been associated
with other people not of their faith.
In other words, the Latter-day
Saints, ( when they have had an op-
portunity to regulate their affairs
according to their own religious and

moral convictions or practical
creed), have been far better than at
other times when they, in a sense,
have been helpless in the hands of
others, or associated with more
worldly-minded and less God-fear-
ing neighbors.

From the day of the arrival of the
pioneers here in 1847 till the month
of June, 1849, the "Mormons'" were
alomst alone in these valleys. There
was scarcely any one here who did
not belong to the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is
very interesting indeed to read of
the good morals and tenets of the
people as they were reduced to
practice at that time — a people who
showed by their actions that they
were indeed a God-fearing people,
though suffering with poverty and
want and beset with very many diffi-
culties incident to western pioneer
life. But they were a moral and
virtuous people. Scarcely an oath
or anything tending to vulgarity or
blasphemy were heard in the streets
of Great Salt Lake City in these
early days. There was no drunken-
ness or immoral practices to speak
of. The vices that try good men's
souls and which are so detrimental
to the progress of a moral com-
munity were almost unknown.

But in the year 1849, after the
gold had been discovered in Cali-
fornia, a certain class of travelers
commenced to pass through the
Great Salt Lake Valley. Some of
these were very good people, who
not only behaved themselves like
gentlemen, but who also spoke
truthfully of the Latter-day Saints,
calling them an honest and a God-
fearing people. Some of these trans-
continental travelers who had lis-
tened to slanderous reports circulat-
ing in the East were indeed sur-
prised to find that the "Mormons"

ELDER ANDREW J EN SON.

in the far-off valley of the Great
Salt Lake consisted chiefly of men
and women of most excellent char-
acter and morals. Some of these
travelers, however, were men of bad
morals who endeavored to introduce
vice of a serious nature among the
Latter-day Saints. Thus, barring a
few isolated cases, the year 1849
witnessed the first introduction into
these valleys of real blasphemy,
theft, robbery, and other things re-
pugnant to the feelings of a true
Christian.

In course of time, or after the
lapse of a few years, the evils intro-
duced into the midst of our people
by these travelers (who were mostly
bound for California and Oregon)
subsided, and the "Mormons" were
again left almost alone for a season.
During that period we enjoyed com-
paratively speaking immunity from
nearly all the vices prevailing at that
time in what we generally called the
outside world, and the "Mormons"
in. the Great Salt Lake Valley again
made a record that reads well as
matters of history at the present
time.

These happy conditions, however,
were overturned to a very great ex-
tent in the year 1858, when the so-
called Johnston Army entered the
Great Salt Lake Valley. There were
about six thousand American troops
and upwards of eleven thousand
camp-followers. Most of the latter
were men of questionable character,
and there were also a few women
whose morals were calculated to
disgrace any community who would
encourage their nefarious practices ;
and yet these same people claimed
that they came to Utah to teach the
"Mormons" better morals. The
complaint had been made against us
in the East that we were not moral,
and that we were the opposite to a

,good people. Hence, these men and
women, to whom I refer, were sent
here, or came here of their own free
will and choice, to introduce a
higher and better civilization than
the one which had existed before.
Without going into details I will
simply say in this connection that
for the time being a most wonderful
change took place in the moral
status of certain localities in this
intermountain region, particularly in
Salt Lake City and Camp Floyd
where most of the soldiers and
camp-followers made their head-
quarters. Quarreling, fighting, steal-
ing, robbing and killing became
common occurrences among the
non-"Mormon" element in these
valleys. One old settler said, "I
have now lived in Provo ten years
and I have heard more blasphemy
and witnessed more vice in Salt
Lake City in twenty-four hours than
I have heard or witnessed all the
time I have lived in the 'Mormon'
town of Provo."

I do not desire to draw an ex-
treme picture of these changing con-
ditions. I desire simply to refer to
facts and present the truth as I find
it recorded in the annals of a people
who have ever been known to keep
good records. Nor do I take as my
authority "Mormon" statements
alone, but the statements of other
honest men and women who were
not afraid to tell the truth and- to
speak of things as they found them.

The Latter-day Saints are by no
means a perfect people, but what-
ever may be said in regard to the
"Mormons" on the one hand and
the non-"Mormon" element on the
other, the facts are these that at such
times when the "Mormons" have
been almost the sole inhabitants of
these mountain valleys and have
lived according to the religion of the

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

Latter-day Saints — the principles or
creed known as "Moimonism,"
which we call the true Christian re-
ligion— they have excelled in purity,
honesty and sobriety. We have, in
other words, fostered a practical
Christian civilization whenever we
have been let alone and given liberty
to show our real characteristics.

Passing on in my observations I
will merely state that after the epi-
sodes of 1858 and the few following
years most of the soldiers who had
arrived in the Valley were ordered
away to participate in the war be-
tween the North and the South, and
most of the camp-followers left the
territory about the same time. After
their departure we had another sea-
son of peace, comparatively speak-
ing, and Christian civilization, in
which purity of life again played a
most prominent part. This condi-
tion continued until the year 1869,
when the Union Pacific Railroad
was finished, and with that event
came the introduction into Utah of
a civilization of which we have
never been proud. Then it was that
we got the perpetual saloon, the per-
petual house of ill-fame and those
other perpetual things of evil which
we often shudder to think of, espe-
cially when we realize what it means
as temptations and inducements to
out young people.

After a while conditions again
changed a little for the better. Our
people succeeding to a considerable
extent to maintain law and order in
a mixed community. But then came
the remarkable year of 1890 when
the "Mormons" lost permanent con-
trol of Salt Lake City, Ogden and a
few other towns. Since that time
we have had to submit to the pres-
ence of nearly all the vices, evils,
and abominations which are cursing
nearly every large city in the whole

so-called civilized world. We are
endeavoring to keep our young peo-
ple as well as ourselves away from
evil doing, but in many instances we
are not as successful as we would
like to be.

From the various examples which
I have quoted from history we can
judge pretty well of "the fruits of
the tree." We have had the priv-
ilege of looking upon the different
pictures of conditions in the differ-
ent periods of our territorial and
state history. We can compare
notes with conditions when the in-
habitants of Utah were almost pure-
ly "Mormon" and when they have
been mixed with other people.

While I do not desire to laud my
people, the Latter-day Saints, to the
sky as a perfect people, I neverthe-
less glory in telling the truth. I
have belonged to the Latter-day
Saints since I was a little boy and I
love my people. I cannot feel satis-
fied to stand silently by always,
when I witness the wrongdoing of
those who oppose us and listen to
the vituperation and false accusa-
tions which come from the outside
world or from people who do not
know us, or. worst of all, from those
enemies in our own midst who know
that they are not telling the truth.
Once in a while I feel like raising
my voice against the false accusa-
tions concocted against us and en-
deavor to make such corrections as
are within my power.

Without exaggeration and with-
out stating anything bordering on
the extreme the facts are, that when
we as Latter-day Saints have had an
opportunity to live by ourselves and
to regulate our domestic and civil
affairs according to our belief and
preferences, we have ever built up
model Christian communities. On
the other hand, when we have been

ELDER SAMUEL O. BENNION .

more or less in the power and under
the influence of people opposed to
us, we have to a greater or less ex-
tent become mixed up with worldly
affairs; for with our best efforts to
steer clear of the "evils and vices in-
troduced amongst us, we have occa-
sionally yielded through weakness
to that which is forbidden in the
Word of God.

In conclusion I assert that history
bears out the fact that the fruit of
the "Mormon" tree is good, far bet-
ter than the fruit plucked from the
so-called up-to-date Christian civili-
zation which has been introduced
amongst us from time to time.
Whenever we have been mixed up
with outside influences our high
standard of morals has invariably
been reduced.

God bless you, my brethren and
sisters. May the Lord God, our
Heavenly Father, enable us to be
faithful and true to the command-
ments which He has given us and to
the teachings of the Savior of the
world, whom we adore and in whom
we believe. May we continue to be
a practical Christian people, and
while we are at the present time a
mixed community, let us take a con-
sistent stand and be determined to
serve the God of our fathers, remain
true to our covenants, and ever have
our eyes and ambition directed to-
ward the Kingdom of God. While
others may do wrong, let us en-
deavor to retain our characteristics
of purity, honesty and uprightness.
I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.

ELDER SAMUEL O. BENNION.

(President of Central States Mission.)

I realize, my brethren and sisters,
what it means, in some measure at
least, to occupy this position, ad-

dressing an audience of Latter-day
Saints, many of whom have
been reared in the Church, and
filled missions abroad ; I realize the
responsibility that attends the
speaker and the audience together,
that the Spirit of the Lord may di-
rect the words of the one who ad-
dresses them.

I feel very weak in attempting to
speak to you this morning, but I
have been interested in the remarks
that have been made by the speakers
at this session of the conference ;
and though we remain only a few
moments longer in this meeting, I
trust we may find it possible to com-
mune with each other so that we will
all be edified and blessed.

I have been interested in the mis-
sionary work for a good long while,
and have learned what it means to
enjoy the Spirit of the Lord. In
speaking to the public, either to the
Latter-day Saints or those who are
not termed Saints, I have found that
all men are more or less interested in
religion, if you can get men to gath-
er their thoughts for a short time,
and concentrate them upon the
many gifts and blessings that the
Lord has given His children on this
earth. I have never met a man in
my experience but what wanted to
be saved, but desired that, sometime
in the future, he might dwell with
our Father in heaven. I am re-
minded always of the words of the
Savior when He appeared unto
Mary and told her to go and tell
her brethren. He told her to touch
Him not, for, said He, "I am not
yet ascended to my Father ; but go
to my brethren, and say unto them,
I ascend unto my Father, and your
Father ; and to my God, and your
God." All men and women in the
earth are children of the same God,
and are entitled to His blessings ac-

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

cording to their works ; and as a
result of their works they will be
rewarded at some future time. Here
where we have grown up, the ma-
jority of the people who belong to
the Church have, I suppose, been
born under the covenant, and have
been familiar with the Gospel of
Jesus Christ from childhood. They
have become acquainted with it
through early instruction, beginning
in the Primary, then in the Mutual
Improvement Association, Sunday
School, etc., and many have gone on
missions into the world ; it seems
almost that they were born Latter-
day Saints.

I believe that a man's condition
here is largely the result of his pre-
existence, a subject which has been
commented upon a little this morn-
ing. A person's future will depend
largely upon his life here. Today's
condition is largely the result of
yesterday's actions, and tomorrow
will be largely affected by today. If
men and women are inclined toward
the Lord today, they are pretty apt
to be that way tomorrow, and so on.
I have learned that it is very profit-
able for any man to be a possessor
of a testimony of the Gospel ; to
know that Jesus is the Christ, and
that Joseph Smith was a prophet of
God : such testimony is a gift of
God. T have learned also that re-
pentance is a gift of God, and that
men cannot truly repent unless the
Lord gives them the spirit of re-
pentance. He gives all men the gift
of repentance who draw near unto
Him, and desire to forsake evil and
choose the good. The same gospel
that was given to man in the days of
Adam, and in the days of all the
holy prophets, is here upon the earth
in this dispensation of the fulness of
times.

I am inclined to believe that the

work of the Lord is nearing an end
here, and that His work will not
continue many more years. Accord-
ing to the time of the Lord, we are
in the last days, and this gospel must
be preached diligently. For this
purpose, more men and women are
sent into the world today than at
any other period, and still the cry is
for more missionaries. There has
never been a time in the history of
our missions when there was more
need of numerous missionaries than
at the present time. Last summer
there were four cities in the Central
States Mission under the ministra-
tion of only one elder and two lady
missionaries, all that we could leave
with them. They traveled from one
city to another every week, encour-
aging the people who were investi-
gating the gospel. There are some
men in this congregation who could
go into the mission field, if they
made up their mind to do it, and it
would be a splendid experience for
them, and a blessing to those to
whom they ministered. I want to
tell you that no man ever acquired a
thorough knowledge of anything
except by experience. He never
truly acquires a knowledge of the
advantages of money only as he has
to toil in earning it. Property that
comes to a man through inheritance
is seldom properly appreciated by
him ; in a majority of cases they lose
it in a short time. Experience in
the mission field, at home and
abroad, is the best kind of training,
the thing that fastens the gospel in
the minds of the missionaries till
they are able to hold fast and walk
by the light of it. Preaching the
.'gospel wherever permitted and
practically living it, is a sure method
of attaining success.

The Lord has said, in the 58th
section of the Doctrine and Cove-

ELDER SAMUEL O. BEN N ION.

nants, that "men should be anxious-
ly engaged in a good cause, and do
many things of their own free will,
and bring to pass much righteous-
ness ; for the power is in them,
wherein they are agents unto them-
selves. And inasmuch as men do
good they shall in nowise lose their
reward." And so, my brethren and
sisters, the power is in you and me,
given by our Eternal Father, to
every one of His sons and daugh-
ters, that they may be prepared to
work in the ministry of the Lord
Jesus, at home and abroad. We can
plan for a future experience in the
mission field, a short or a long one,
according to our desires. My
brethren and sisters, it has been my
desire to impress upon this body of
men and women that missionaries
are needed, men of experience. I
want to say to you that I have never
seen anyone come into the mission
field yet but what there is a place for
him. and there have been people
somewhere who would listen to him.
But we need older men than former-
ly. The time has arrived, I firmly
believe, when men who have already
had an experience in the mission
field are most needed. Experience
keeps men alive, fresh and able ; de-
cay results if we get into ruts, drift
into easy paths, or become inactive.
I believe that the Lord desires that
the Priesthood in this Church
should, every one of them,* be at
work, at home or abroad ; and I be-
lieve that all who are able to act as
missionaries will be called. Joseph
Smith said that every man who was
called into the ministry in the world
was ordained unto that calling be-
fore the world was. If that be the
case, they undoubtedly understood
the gospel of Jesus Christ in the
pre-existent state. My brethren and

sisters, in order to obtain the bless-
ings that have been pronounced
upon the elders of Israel, those who
are called will have to use the free
agency that God gave unto them
and exercise the power of their
Priesthood in fulfilling the. require-
ment that has been made of them.
The Lord has said that "many are
called, but few are chosen. And
why are they not chosen? Because
their hearts are set so much upon
the things of this world." Men en-
gage in business, and lose sight of
the greater blessings and privileges,
and the purpose for which they
came into the earth.

My brethren and sisters, time will
not permit me to speak longer. I
enjoy knowing that I am a Latter-
day Saint. I value my membership
in this Church as the greatest pos-
session that has ever come to me. I
rejoice in the knowledge that the
Lord lives, and that Joseph Smith is
a prophet of God, that this is the
Church of Jesus Christ, and that this
people called Latter-day Saints are
His people. I know that those who
go down into the waters of baptism
will be accepted of Him. I know
that Joseph Smith received the reve-
lations of the Lord which he said he
did, and that he received a visitation
of the Father and the Son, and mes-
sengers from the heavenly world.

I humbly pray that the blessings
of the Lord will continue with us
each day while we live upon the
earth, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

A male quartet rendered a selec-
tion.

The Choir sang, "The Palms."

Bishop Peter C. Rasmussen pro-
nounced the benediction.

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

AFTERNOON SESSION.

In the Tabernacle.
Conference was resumed at 2
p. m.

President Joseph F. Smith called
the meeting to order.

The Choir sang the anthem, "Let
the Mountains Shout for Joy."

Prayer was offered by Elder
Milton H. Welling.

The Choir sang the anthem, "I
waited for the Lord."

PREST. CHARLES W. PENROSE.

The living word of God — The Easter
Anniversary — Christ's literal resur-
rection— Evidences of the fact — The
universal resurrection — Christ's par-
entage— The Father, a Being of
Tabernacle — The Holy Ghost a
"Personage of Spirit" — The Spirit
of God a boundless essence — Adam
as the head of our race — We wor-
ship only the eternal Father.

I should have been well repaid
for coming to this conference if I
had only had the pleasure, that I
now enjoy, of looking upon this vast
congregation composed chiefly of
Latter-day Saints, members of the
Church of Jesus Christ, which He
has established in the last days and
for the last time, but I appreciate
the privilege afforded me of ad-
dressing my brethren and sisters,
and earnestly desire that the
good spirit which was present with
us during our morning exercises will
be with us this afternoon, and that
I may be inspired by the same spirit
which was present with us at the
opening session.

This morning I felt that we were
receiving the word of God. We
have some books which we recog-
nize as containing the word of God :
The Bible, composed of the Old and

New Testaments, and the Book of
Mormon, and the Doctrine and
Covenants, and the Pearl of Great
Price, which we recognize as the
written standards of doctrine in the
Church. These contain revelations
given in the past; some of them in
the very distant past. But it is
a great consolation to me and must
be to all Israel that we have the liv-
ing word of God today, and that that
which is spoken under the influence
of the Holy Ghost is just as much
the word of God, just as important
and just as binding upon the people
of God, as that which was given in
former times. "Holy men of old
spake and wrote as they were moved
upon by the Holy Ghost," so Peter
declared, and we can say that holy
men in these latter times have
spoken and do speak under the in-
fluence of the same Spirit, and it
is no less the word of God when it
is spoken by that divine influence
than that which was spoken under it
hundreds of years ago.

I do not think there was any
prophet of God in any age of the
world who brought forth more truth
and more important truths than
were revealed through the Prophet
Joseph Smith. And since his day,
as necessity has required, we have
had the word of God through His
living successors, and I am very
grateful today for the privilege and
blessing to live at a time when God
speaks by the power of the Holy
Ghost through His inspired ser-
vants, and when He bears witness
to the souls of those who will re-
ceive His word the truth of that
which is uttered. From my own
feelings this mor'h'ing I believe that
the general sentiment throughout
Cne vast congregation assembled in
this tabernacle, was, that we had the
living word of God and it entered

PRESIDENT CHARLES W. PENROSE.

our souls and we felt that we wanted
to do that which the Lord requires
of us ; that we were willing to re-
ceive the instructions imparted by
the man who holds the keys today,
just as much as Joseph the prophet
held them in his time, and as they
were held by Peter in his time, or
by any of the prophets of God who
lived from the beginning. I am
grateful for this and for the testi-
mony of Jesus which is in my heart,
that I know that my Redeemer lives
and that through Him and by Him,
if I will observe His laws and keep
His commandments and be led by
His Spirit, T shall have the privilege
of rejoicing with Him in immortal
glory in the presence of the Father.

Today is celebrated throughout
Christendom as the anniversary of
the day on which Jesus who had
been put to death on the cross, rose
from the dead and appeared to His
disciples, as was related by Presi-
dent Lund this morning. I hope
you all heard his brief discourse. If
you didn't hear every word of it I
hope you will read it when it is
printed and published. I take pleas-
ure in bearing testimony to the truth
of that which He uttered, and which
was spoken by the apostles whom
Jesus Himself, in person, sent out
into all the world after His appear-
ance to them. I do not know whether
this is actually the proper anniver-
sary of that day, that Sunday
morning, "the first day of the
week," when Christ arose from the
dead and made his personal appear-
ance to Mary in the Garden, and
afterwards to others of His follow-
ers, to demonstrate to them the fact
that He was living though He had
been dead. It is not so much the
time, the day, as the fact which is
important.

Is it a fact that Jesus of Nazareth,

who was taken by wicked hands and
nailed upon the cross, and crucified,
and was slain and was buried, really
rose from the dead? To us Latter-
day Saints the matter seems so clear
and plain that we wonder that any-
body should dispute this, particu-
larly among any of the so-called
Christian sects. It is a marvel to us
that men professing to be Christian-
preachers will try to make their fol-
lowers believe that the resurrection
of Jesus Christ was not a literal
fact, but that His Spirit merely rose
from the body and the body went
to dust like the bodies of all people
as is generally supposed. Yet we
read in some of their creeds that
Jesus "suffered under Pontius
Pilate, was crucified, died, buried
and on the third day after,
He rose from the dead." But if
the notions that are now being
taught to the people concerning
Him are true, then He was raised
on the day that He was crucified,
not on the third day ; that His spirit
left His body after it had hung for
some hours upon the cross, for there
He said: "Father, into Thy hands
I commend my spirit." So we read
in the New Testament, "And He
bowed His head and gave up the
ghost." So that the Spirit of Jesus,
the Christ, ascended from the body
while His body hung upon the cross,
and they took down the defunct
body and buried it in the tomb pre-
pared by Joseph or' Arimathea. It
was on the third day after that
that He rose from the dead, accord-
ing to the account which we have in
the New Testament and which is
generally received in word by the
various sects of Christendom.

Now is it a fact, is there evidence
and proof that the man Jesus, who
was crucified on the cross, actually
rose from the dead and that in His

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

body He appeared to His disciples?
We believe that with all our hearts.
We have had additional testimony
and evidence to that which we read
about in the New Testament, but I
will read to you a few verses from
the testimony of Paul on the sub-
ject, which I think are important in
the way of evidence of the actual
fact of the resurrection of Jesus
Christ. It is in that remarkable dis-
course contained in the fifteenth
chapter of the First Epistle of Paul
to the Corinthians. That is. that
which is called the First Epistle, for
I find in the fifth chapter of that
epistle he speaks of the former
epistle that he wrote, on a certain
very important subject, so that what
is called "The First Epistle to the
Corinthians" is merely the first that
we have. I will commence at the
first verse. I recommend the read-
ing of this whole chapter to every-
body interested in this very import-
ant subject. A great manv verses
from it are read usually at funerals,
particularly by the Episcopal
Church, and by some of the other
churches. There are so manv beau-
tiful utterances in this chapter that
they ought to be familiar to all peo-
ple who profess to be Christians.
Paul commences this chapter in' this
way :

"Moreover, brethren. T declare unto
you the gospel which I preached unto
you, which also ve have received, and
wherein ve stand;

"P>v which also ve are saved, if ye
keep in memory what I preached unto
you. unless ve have believed in vain.

"For T delivered unto vou first of
all that which T also received, how
that Christ died for our sins according
to the scriptures: and that he was
buried, and that he rose again the
third day according to the scriptures;
and that he was seen of Cephas," [that
is another name for Peterl. "then of
the twelve:

"After that, he was seen of above
five hundred brethren at once; of
whom the greater part remain unto
this present, but some are fallen
asleep.

"After that, he was seen of James;
then of all the apostles.

"And last of all he was seen of me
also, as of one born out of due time.

"For I am the least of the apostles,
that am not meet to be called an
apostle, because I persecuted the
Church of God."

Then we have the Avritten testi-
mony of the men who are called the
evangelists, the four evangelists,
Matthew, Mark. Luke and John.
Luke was a very fine writer. Tt
is supposed that he wrote the Acts
of the apostles. T believe that is
generally conceded. P>ut we have
in each of these writings called the
Gospel of Matthew, and the Gospel
of Mark, and of Luke and of John,
distinct evidence given bv persons
who saw the Savior after His res-
urrection, and particularly that
which is given by Luke, which T
recommend you to read. Read the
last chanter of "the Gospel accord-
ing to Saint Luke" for in that we
are told very definitely, that Jesus
appeared to His apostles when thev
were gathered in an upner room for
fear of the Tews, and "thev were
terrified and affrighted and sup-
nosed thev had seen a spirit." Rut
Tesus said unto them : "Why are
ve troubled and why do thoughts
arise in your hearts?" Pehold My
hands and Mv feet, that it is T. My-
self, handle Me and see. for a spirit
hath not flesh and bones as ve see
Me have." And while thev believed
not vet for joy. and wondered, He
said to them. Have ve here any
meat? and thev gave Him a. piece
of a broiled fish, and of an honev-
ro«A \nd He took it. and did
eat before them."

PRESIDENT CHARLES W. PENROSE.

Why did He do that, do you sup-
pose ? W as it not to prove to them
the fact that He was there in His
body, the same body although
changed in many particulars that
hung on the cross, for there were
the marks of the nails that were
driven through His hands, and
the mark of the Roman spear in His
side, which He afterwards showed
to Thomas and to others. What
was the object that He had in view?
Why to show them that He was not
a mere spirit separated from the
body, but that He was there in the
body and that He was raised from
the dead. Not only did these four
men that I speak of give this testi-
mony, but we have the writings of
Peter, and of James, and here of
Paul. And Paul wrote of some-
thing which was well understood,
evidently, among the disciples, the
members of the Church then, that
five hundred of the brethren at once
saw Him, and knew that He lived
and that He was in the body, that
He was a tangible being with flesh
and bones — not merely "flesh and
bone" as so many of our brethren
quote it — but flesh and bones, the
same appearance of flesh and of
bones that He had while He was in
mortality. Paul explains in this same
chapter, that when the body is
placed in the grave it is placed there
somewhat like we sow grain, He
says, "it may chance of wheat or
some other grain ; but that which
thou sowest is not quickened except
it die." He showed that Jesus'
body was placed in the grave and
that He came forth again. As to the
deceased body he says : "It is sown
in corruption; it is raised in incor-
ruption. It is sown in weakness, it
is raised in power. It is sown a
natural body, it is raised a spiritual
body." Further, he declares the

fact that "Now is Christ risen from
the dead and become the first-fruits
of them that slept. For since by
man came death, by man came also
the resurrection from the dead."
The great song of that time was, as
we heard this morning "Christ is
Risen!" Hallelujah! Praise to God
for the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
for it was the Father that raised
up Christ from the dead! And in
writing to the Romans, Paul de-
clares : "If the Spirit of Him that
raised up Jesus from the dead dwell
in you, He that raised up Christ
from the dead shall also quicken
your mortal bodies by His Spirit
that dwelleth in you." (Rom. 8:11).
Paul also, in writing to the Phil-
ippians, declares that, "We look for
the Savior the Lord Jesus Christ"
to come from heaven, "who shall
change our vile body that it may be
fashioned like unto His glorious
body." (Phil. 3:21). Now then
as to the resurrection of Jesus
Christ, the fact seems to be just as
well authenticated as the fact of His
death and of His burial. Not only
do we have these testimonies in the
New Testament, but we have the
testimony in the Book of Mormon
which the Prophet Joseph translated
by the gift and power of God, giv-
ing a great deal of the history of the
dealings of God with the ancient
people on this continent; and- there
we read of the appearance of Jesus,
the Christ, to the Nephites, and He
showed them His hands and His
feet and invited them to test and
prove that He was there in the body,
not merely a spirit extricated from
the body, a disembodied spirit, but
the man Jesus, the Lord Christ
raised from the dead, appearing in
His resurrected body.

Again, we have the testimony in
our own day of the Prophet Joseph,

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

when a boy, in that first glorious
manifestation of God to man in the
19th century. Joseph prayed to God
in regard to the various religions
existing in the world; he prayed
that he might have knowledge and
light concerning which was the true
religion ; and we have that beau-
tiful, simple, striking and touching
account which you have all read,
no doubt, when the Father and the
Son both appeared to him and the
Father, pointing to the Son, said:
'This is my beloved son, hear him."
It was Jesus the Christ raised from
the dead that appeared to the
prophet and that spake to him and
taught him in regard to the fallacy
of the teachings of men and their
departure from the faith, and prom-
ised that the truth should be re-
stored in its fullness. I need not
dwell further on that particular
case.

But, again, we read in the 76th
section of the Doctrine and Cove-
nants that on a certain day men-
tioned there, Joseph Smith and Sid-
ney Rigdon, being engaged in the
work of revision or translation of
the scriptures, came to a passage in
the writings of John, and it was
given to them in a way. a little dif-
ferent to what it is in the New
Testament. Jesus, who declared
Himself, when among His disciples,
when in mortality, as "the resur-
rection and the life," saying that He
had life in Himself, as the Father
had life in Himself, and that He
had power to lay clown His life and
to take it up again. He added:

"Marvel not at this, for the hour
is coming in the which all that are
in the graves shall hear the voice
of the Son of God and shall come
forth — they that have done good,
in the resurrection of life, and they
that have done evil in the resurrec-

tion of damnation. (Jno. 5 :28, 29).

It was given to the Prophet Joseph
and Sidney Rigdon in this wise:
"They that have done good, in the
resurrection of the just ; and they
that have done evil, in the resurrec-
tion of the unjust," — quite similar
in meaning only a little different in
the wording. But they marveled at
this, and they prayed, and they de-
clare that the eyes of their under-
standing were opened, and thev saw
the Lord seated upon His throne
and Jesus the Christ on His right
hand ; they saw Him in the heavenly
vision and conversed with Him and
they said :

"Now, after the many testimonies
that have been given of Him this is
our testimony last of all, that we
give of Him. that He lives, for we
saw Him on the right hand of God,
and we heard the voice bearing
record that he is the only begotten
Son of God; that by Him, and
through Him and of Him the worlds
are and were created, and the inhab-
itants thereof are begotten sons and
daughters unto God." There is a
great truth in that, which you might
think about when you have a little
leisure time, and see how wide and
extensive a field it opens to view,
and how it carries you into the deal-
ings of God and His relationship to
the beings who inhabit the various
worlds that He has created ; and
therein we have a definite revelation
that the worlds are inhabited, which
has been a matter in great dispute
for many years and is so still.

These are some of the evidences
and testimonies concerning the
Savior — that He rose from the dead,
that He was resurrected, and that
the resurrection was the raising of
the body that was crucified on the
cross, quickened by the power of
God, by the vital spirit which quick-

PRESIDENT CHARLES W. PENROSE.

eneth all things that are quickened.
The Apostle Paul goes on to reason
that if Christ was not risen, then
we will not rise from the dead ; but
that if He has been raised from the
dead then we also shall be raised ;
and he goes on to show how uni-
versal that resurrection shall be — ■
some to come forth in the resurrec-
tion of the just, and some in the
resurrection of the unjust, and that
there are to be different grades of
glory among those that are resur-
rected. If you want to learn a little
more about that, in greater plain-
ness, read the 88th section of the
Doctrine and Covenants and you
will find there something that may
be called philosophical as well as
theological. Those that obey celes-
tial laws will so improve and purify
and sanctify their bodies that those
bodies will be fit to come forth in
''the first resurrection" to celestial
glory, and that they will then be
"bodies celestial ;" while those who
would not receive the laws of God
which are celestial, that is, receiving
every word that comes from the
mouth of God, but will obey a ter-
restial law, will be quickened by a
portion of the terrestial glorv and
receive of the same in a fulness ;
and, as we learn also in The Vision,
they will not be bodies celestial but
"bodies terrestial," a different class,
but raised from the dead and quick-
ened by the power of that vital spirit
which quickeneth all things. And
they who do not receive the terres-
tial laws but only the telestial, will
come forth in the resurrection,
raised with a telestial body and be
Quickened by the telestial glory. In
the revelation that I referred to, in
the 88th section, we learn that they
will improve, as all things will have
to, for progress is the law of the
universe, and all beings, all intelli-

gences will have an opportunity of
progressing along certain lines.
Those who are of a celestial body
shall come forth and have a body
like unto the glorious body of the
Son of God, and will dwell in His
presence and be with Him in glory
in the presence of the Father, while
those who only obey the terrestial or
the telestial laws, after they are re-
deemed will come forth in the way
that is described, "but where God
and Christ dwell" — so it is said of
the telestial — "they never can come
worlds without end." That may
answer some queries that are made
in some of our theological classes.
Now this all depends upon the res-
urrection of Jesus the Christ. I say
Jesus the Christ because that is what
He was. Some few of our brethren
get a notion in their heads that the
Christ is not a person but a power ;
but Jesus is called the Christ, over
and over again both in former and
in latter day revelation ; also He was
the Logos, the Word of God. Not
merely a word spoken but He is
called the Word because the word
of God came through Him and was
embodied in Him. In the 93rd sec-
tion of the Doctrine and Covenants
you will read His own words about
it, that He was the Word just as
John declared; that He came forth
from God, that He was in the be-
ginning with God and was the first-
born.

Here is another point in the his-
tory of that great and extraordinary
Being. I say extraordinary, for He
is different in many respects from
all the sons of men : In the first
place He is called the first-born in
the spirit world ; He is called the
first-born here in the Epistle to the
Hebrews and in Colossians, and in
the opening chapter of John's dis-
course or "Gospel" He is called the

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

only begotten son of God, "for God
so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son that through
Him man might not perish but have
everlasting life." Now here are two
statements about Him, that He was
the first-born ; He makes that state-
ment to us in the revelation concern-
ing Himself; "I also was in the be-
ginning with the Father, and am the
first-born." Some people have a
notion that the first-born was that
being who afterward was called
Satan, Lucifer, who rebelled. That
is a mistake ; Christ Himself puts
that at rest by stating distinctly : "I
also was in the beginning with the
Father and am the first-born. Man
also was in the beginning with God.
That which is spirit," that portion
of man that is spirit "was in the be-
ginning with God ;" but Jesus, as
He was called on earth, was the
first-born and He dwelt in the pres-
ence of the Father. What was He
— the Father? No; He could not
be His own father nor His own son,
and Jesus was the Son of The
Father, the Son of the Highest,
and He was the first-born, and we
were born afterwards in the spirit ;
so that Christ was the first-born in
the spirit. How was He brought
forth — as an individual, conscious,
thinking, intelligent spirit with
agency? Why, He was begotten of
the Father, and therefore the at-
tributes of the Father came to Him
by generation, and so to us, meas-
urably, every one of us : but on the
earth He was "the only begotten
Son of God," born of the Virgin
Mary. Let me read a verse from
the description given to us by Luke
on this matter. It is well enough
to read all that was said concerning
Jesus the Christ, because He was
the greatest of all beings who ever
dwelt upon the face of the earth. In

the first chapter of the Gospel ac-
cording to St. Luke we are told of a
prophecy made through the father
of John the Baptist concerning Him
and we also read there that He
should be called "the Son of the
Highest," and that John should be a
prophet to go before Him and pre-
pare the way. Now here in this
chapter we have an account of the
appearance of an angel to Mary who
was one of the ministering spirits
and ladies in the temple. The angel
appeared to her and hailed her in
this way :

"And the angel said unto her, Fear
not, Mary: for thou hast found favor
with God.

"And, behold, thou shalt conceive in
thy womb and bring forth a son and
shalt call his name Jesus." [The mean-
ing of the word Jesus being Savior.}

"He shall be great, and shall be
called the Son of the Highest: and the
Lord God shall give unto him the
throne of His father, David:

"And He shall reign over the house
of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom
there shall be no end.

"And the angel said unto her: The
Holj' Ghost shall come upon thee, and
the power of the Highest shall over-
shadow thee; therefore also that holy
thing which shall be born of thee shall
be called the Son of God."

Do you need any plainer explana-
tion of this matter? This is con-
sidered to be one of the great mys-
teries, in the religious world. If you
understood it just exactly as it is, it
would not be so great a mystery.
Believe what is written there by
Luke, for that is the truth. Jesus
of Nazareth was the Son of Mary
and Lie was the Son of God, con-
ceived by the power of the Holy
Ghost, as all things are, but not be-
gotten. Some of our good friends
who desire to dispute with us, say
that the "Mormons" don't believe in
true doctrine, for they do not believe

PRESIDENT CHARLES W. PENROSE.

that Jesus was begotten by the Holy
Ghost. Well, the scripture does not
say that He was ; it does not say any
where that He was "begotten of the
Holy Ghost." The Holy Ghost
rested upon Mary, but the power of
the Most High overshadowed her,
and that which was born of her was
the Son of God. He was the only be-
gotten Son of God — not of the Holy
Ghost — as well as the Son of Mary.
He "was the first-born in the spirit,
and as a Son of God the only begot-
ten in the flesh. Therefore, as I
said. He is an exceptional Being.

If you want to read more about
Him in this respect, take the first
and second chapters of the Epistle
to the Hebrews, and the first chap-
ter of Colossians, that I haven't time
to read here this afternoon, for I
don't want to take up too much
time ; but it is very interesting to
read there how that He was the
greatest, that He was the first, and
so that He might "bring many sons
unto glory," He was made in all
points like they are, only He was
without sin. He had a body fash-
ioned like theirs ; it was born of the
virgin ; it was a material body. He
suffered all the pains and pangs of
men and women and children ; He
suffered that He might bear their
sins and that He finally might die,
laving down His life voluntarily —
because He had life in Himself, and
was raised up by the glorv of the
Father, so that He had His body
restored to Him, and in that He
became in all respects exactly like
the Father.

You take the 130th section of the
Doctrine and Covenants and vou
will read there that God the Father
is a being of tabernacle, that He is
a snirit but that He has a body of
flesh and bones as tangible as man's ;
and the Son also ; but the Holy

Ghost is a pers'onage of spirit, not
of tabernacle. I want to touch just
a little on that point and clear up
some ideas that our brethren have
in regard to it, which lead them
sometimes into disputes; they do
not seem to understand that the
Holy Ghost, the personage spoken
of there, is "a personage of spirit,"
and, yet, that the Holy Spirit or
Holy Ghost — for the words are used
interchangeably, if not synonym-
ously— can be "poured out" and can
be given to a number of people at
the same time at different places and
can permeate all things. Now, when
Jesus was talking with His disciples,
before His death and resurrection —
as you read in the 14th and 16th
chapters of the Gospel according to
St. John ; (I will not turn to it; you
turn to it and read it). It is good
to read the Bible sometimes, breth-
ren, even if it is "an old book;" if it
is old it is not antiquated in that
sense. It is true today as it was
when it was written. We can un-
derstand it if we get the same spirit
in us by which it was written. There
Jesus says to them : "It is expedient
that I go away, for if I go not away
the Comforter will not come ; but if
I go away I will send Him unto you
from the Father. When the spirit
of truth is come, He shall guide you
into all truth," and so on. Here is
an individual, a personage, evident-
ly, that He was speaking about, "a
personage of spirit" as told in the
revelation that I quoted from; but
the Spirit of the Lord, sometimes
called the Holy Spirit, sometimes
called the Holy Ghost— because the
words are used, as I have said, in-
terchangeably— is an essence that
permeates all things.

Take the section <;hat I have-
quoted to you. the 88th section of
the Doctrine and Covenants, and!

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

you will read that there is a spirit
which is called "the light of Christ."
That is not Christ Himself in per-
son, but it is the light of Christ;
"as also He is in the sun and is the
light of the sun and the power by
which it was made ; and in the moon
also, and the light of the moon ; and
in the stars, and the light of the
stars ; and in the earth also on which
ye stand ; and the light which now
enlighteneth your eyes is through
Him that enlighteneth your under-
standing, and is the same spirit
which enlighteneth the mind and the
soul and spirit of man ; the light
which is in all things, which is
through all things, which is round
about all things and which is the law
by which all things are governed."
In other revelations of God to us,
particularly in the 29th section of
the Doctrine and Covenants, you
will read there that God says, "I
created all things by the power of
my Spirit, firstly, spiritual, and aft-
erwards temporal." All things that
have life in the world, in the great
universe of God, throughout bound-
less space, all things that have life
are quickened by that spirit, and
that is under the direction of the
Father and the Son and the per-
sonage called the Holy Ghost, and
it proceeds from the presence of
God throughout the immensity of
space. So we are told by the Lord
Himself. There are three that bear
record in heaven, John declares in
the first epistle that he wrote after
he wrote his "gospel," as it is called,
"There are three that bear record in
"heaven — the Father and the Word
and the Holy Ghost, and these three
are one ; and there are three that
bear witness on the earth, the spirit
and the wa*er and the blood, and
these three agree in one" (I
John) ; and as these three are differ-

ent and separate and distinct, so are
the other three — the Father and the
Son and the Holy Ghost — three in-
dividuals, not one person, not one
substance, but different individuals.
They three are the great, matchless,
powerful, mighty rulers and gov-
ernors of the universe, and all things
are under their direction, and they
three are one, just as Christ prayed
that His disciples might all be one.

There need not be any confusion
in our minds regarding these im-
portant things. It is important that
we should know something about
the Being whom we worship — the
Father, for it is the Father whom
we worship. We do not pray to
the Son nor to the Holy Ghost ; we
pray to the Father, in the name of
Jesus Christ, the Son, under the in-
fluence and guidance of the Holy
Ghost. When we do that we are
in accord with the Lord, and we are
doing that which we are commanded
to do. If we want to come unto the
Father, we have to come unto Him
by the Son. "No man cometh to
the Father but by Me." Jesus said.
He is the Mediator. He was so ap-
pointed ; He is the greatest : He is
the mightiest of all the sons of God.
He was the first-born. How many
ages, millions of ages ago it was,
when He was the first-born we do
not know, but that He had a mighty
and long experience is evident by
what He declared, that "the Father
loveth the Son and showeth Him all
things that He. Himself, doeth."
That is why He was "in the begin-
ning," in the creation. The Father
told Him to go down and do certain
things. He knew how to do them
because He had seen the Father do
them. He is the great eternal
Christ, the Word of the living God,
the Son of the Father, the first-born
of all the children of God that after-

PRESIDENT CHARLES W. PENROSE.

wards tabernacled here on the earth.
He was not Adam ; Adam was not
He ; He gave commandments to
Adam in the Garden. Adam wor-
shiped the Father, and we worship
the Father ; we do not worship
Adam. Adam is the head of the
race, so far as the temporal body is
concerned. He is placed at the head,
as you will read in the Doctrine and
Covenants in section 107. When
Adam gathered with his posterity,
before his departure, in the valley
of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and there
bestowed upon them his last bless-
ing: "the Lord appeared unto them
and they rose up and blessed Adam,
and called him Michael, the Prince,
the Archangel." That is who Adam
was before he came to the earth in
his temporal and mortal body:

"And the Lord administered comfort
unto Adam, and said unto him, I have
set thee to be at the head — a multitude
of nations shall come of thee and thou
art a prince over them forever."

But we are not to worship Adam ;
we worship the same being whom
Adam worshiped. Adam worshiped
the Father in the name of the Son,
as you will see if you will take the
Pearl of Great Price and read the
writings of Moses about him and
about Enoch. Now, my brethren
and sisters, we adore Jesus of Naz-
areth ; we adore Him as the Mes-
siah ; we adore Him as the Christ ;
we adore Him as the only begotten
Son of God in the flesh, literally,
actually. We can understand that.
We adore Him as the first-born of
all the creation of God — that per-
tains to this earth at any rate. But
He is the revelation of the Father.
Sometimes He is called both the
Father and the Son. It does not
mean that He is actually His own
father or His own son. He repre-

sents the Father; "in Him dwelleth
the fulness of the Godhead, bodily ;"
He looks just exactly like the
Father, as the Prophet Joseph saw,
in the vision. He is the express
image of the Father. God is man-
ifest in the flesh in Jesus of Nazar-
eth, and we adore Him and venerate
Him, and He is our Savior ; but we
worship and pray to and obey the
great Eternal Father of the spirits
of all men. He is our Father and
is our God and is Christ's Father
and Christ's God just as well.

Jesus Christ died for us. Death
came into the world through the
transgression of man. We have the
revelation of God for that. We need
not speculate on what there was be-
fore Adam was on the earth ; it does
not matter. Death came through
the fall of Adam and it is called
"the fall," in the revelations of God.
Life came through Jesus Christ. "As
in Adam all die, so in Christ shall
all be made alive." Christ is risen!
Hallelujah ! Glory to God in the
Highest ! The Redeemer, the Savior
of the world, was raised from the
dead, and in Him there is life. In
the beginning He was with God and
He had life in Him, and that life is
the light of man and the light of the
world, and it is His light that shines
from the sun, and from the moon,
and from the stars, and is in all
things and, under the word of God,
the direction of the Holy One, with-
out even touching a button the light
will shine forth, and those who obey
the laws given to obtain them, can
receive the blessings and be enlight-
ened by the power of that Holy
Spirit as directed either by the
Father or the Son, or by that per-
sonage that is called the Holy Ghost,
who came in power on the Day of
Pentecost, and came in power on the
day when the Kirtland Temple was

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

dedicated. His power and His
presence were there made manifest
in the same way as on the Day of
Pentecost. And He is in this
Church, and is under the direction
of Christ. The Comforter is here ;
our hearts are comforted by the
power of His presence in the midst
of His people. The Father and the
Son and the Holy Ghost are the
Deity ; they are one, and we are un-
der their direction and they have re-
stored the gospel, as we heard this
morning. Praise be unto them, for
this grand gift. Let us rejoice that
we live in a day when the Gospel in
its fulness and purity is restored,
and we are participants in its bless-
ings !

Every one of us can receive some
special gift from the Divine Spirit :
for there are many gifts of the
Spirit, but it is the same Spirit, only
one Spirit permeating all things ;
and the Spirit that gives the gift of
prophecy, or the gift of healing, or
the gift of tongues, or the gift of
interpretation, or the gift of visions,
and so on, is one Spirit, but these
are different manifestations of that
Spirit. The highest manifestations
are with the Father and the Son and
the Holy Ghost, for they have the
very fulness thereof and can impart
it. In its lower manifestations it is
here in natural things, in light, in
heat, in electricity, in the various
manifestations of that divine power
which permeates all things and by
which God created and governs all
things. We can receive blessings
from on high and blessings from be-
neath. Thanks be to the Lord for
the revelations of the Gospel !
Thanks be to God for the gift of
His only begotten Son who died
that we might live ! And if we will
keep His commandments and walk
in His light and do those things that

He commands, He will bring us
forth from the tomb and we will
come forth with those that are His
at His coming. He was the first-
fruit ; afterwards shall be those who
are Christ's at His coming. He
knows them and He will call them
forth; and then, as Job said, "Thou
shalt call and I will answer ; for
Thou shalt have a desire to the work
of Thine hands." Glory be to God
for the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ,
who is the resurrection and the life !
He will appear to us in "the sweet
bye and bye," and we will appear
with Him in glory, if we will walk
in His ways and keep His command-
ments and be imbued with His holy,
righteous, directing, enlightening
spirit. May the Lord help us so to
do, for Christ's sake. Amen.

A male quartet, consisting of
James Moncar, Hyrum J. Christian-
sen, August Glissmeyer and Albert
E, Braby sang the hymn, "O, give
me back my Prophet Dear," to Prof.
Evan Stephens' music.

PREST. FRANCIS M. LYMAN.

Duties of Seventies clearly denned —
To preach the Gospel abroad, and at
home — To be preferably selected for
that purpose — The lesser to assist
the higher in home missionary labor
— Duty of all to work diligently in
priesthood callings— Great revival
expected in Seventies' work.

How delighted we have all been
today in listening to the instructions
and testimonies of the First Presi-
dency, and the doctrines that have
been unfolded to our minds — very
important and very precious — in re-
gard to our Savior, on this day
somewhere near the anniversary of
His resurrection, near enough as we
all consider it, all Christian people.
I feel very grateful that it falls to

PRESIDENT FRANCIS M. LYMAN.

my lot to follow my brethren for a
few minutes upon subjects that are
very close to our hearts, and that
belong to us who are the representa-
tives of our Savior, bearing divine
authority from Him. I appreciate
it all the more because there is so
important a body of our brethren
right here in front of me, and I
don't know how long it will be be-
fore I will have another opportunity
of speaking to such a body of men —
the leading brethren from all the
stakes of Zion and many of the mis-
sions, and from many of the wards
of the Church.

As you have listened so profound-
ly to the brethren who have already
spoken, I wouldn't have you forget
anything that they have said, for I
shall not be able to say anything to
compare, possibly, with what they
have said ; but I do desire of you
that you will ask the Lord to help
His servant the few minutes that he
shall speak, and then I would like
you to pay particular attention, and
keep awake, and hear every word I
say and treasure them up and profit
by them. I want to read a few
words from our Savior which are
found in the 107 Section of the Doc-
trine and Covenants, commencing
with the 33d verse ; the Lord says :

The Twelve are a traveling presid-
ing High Council, to officiate in the
name of the Lord, under the direction
of the Presidency of the Church, agree-
able to the institution of heaven; to
build up the Church, and regulate all
the affairs of the same in all nations;
first unto the Gentiles and secondly
unto the Jews.

The seventy are to act in the name
of the Lord, under the direction of the
Twelve or the traveling High Council,
in building up the Church and regulat-
ing all the affairs of the same in all
nations — first unto the Gentiles and
then to the Jews;

The Twelve being sent out, holding
the keys, to open the door by the

proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ — and first unto the Gentiles and
then unto the Jews. * * * *

It is the duty of the traveling High
Council to call upon the seventy, when
they need assistance, to fill the several
calls for preaching and administering
the gospel, instead of any others.

I desire to draw your attention,
my brethren, to the fact disclosed in
these words of the Lord — that the
Twelve are traveling elders, and
that the seventies also are traveling
elders and are expected to join in
the ministry of the Lord to preach
the Gospel throughout the earth ;
and T would like to draw your at-
tention to the fact that the Twelve
are now and have always been so
engaged since they were chosen in
this generation ; they have been min-
ute men and traveling elders.
Though composing the traveling
presiding High Council of the
Church, they are always in the field,
always traveling and laboring. You
have seen them and you do see them
from week to week, from month to
month, and from year to year. They
come in your neighborhood and they
assist you in regulating and setting
in order the affairs of the Church in
your stakes and wards, and they
give careful attention to the prepar-
ation of the elders that are called
into the ministry abroad.

Now it is disclosed here that in-
stead of other men it is required of
us to first call upon the seventies to
assist us in the preaching of the
Gospel ; and we have set a proper
example by taking hold of the first
seven presidents, the first council of
seventy, and you will notice that
they always travel with us. Have
you noticed that they go from stake
to stake as we do, that they labor
with us, and assist us, and are in
council with us, and that they give

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

attention to the calling of seventies,
the organization of quorums, and so
forth, and preparing the brethren
for their ministry abroad? Now we
have latterly been giving a little
more definite thought to the minis-
try in the world, a little more definite
than we have done in the past, and
we have found this to be the case,
that other brethren of necessity — I
want to say of necessity — have been
called into the field, and they have
answered the call. The High Priests
and the elders have generally gone
into the field, and are today accom-
plishing the work of preaching the
Gospel more generally than ought
to be required of them, for the rea-
son that the seventies have not been
called. The reason that they have
not been called is because they are
men occupied in all business affairs,
their hands are full of business of
all kinds, and they have been ex-
cused. We have excused them more,
possibly, than we ought to have
done, I rather think ; but at any rate,
we have come to the conclusion it is
time now that the thousands of sev-
enties that we have in the Church
should have the right of way, to
give them opportunity so that every
seventy shall go into the field at least
once and preach the Gospel. If he
is very suitable and able, and con-
ditions and necessary circumstances
such that it is reasonably possible
for him, he can go twice, and then
possibly a third time. I remember
going myself when I was a seventy,
and I have been a seventy always
since. I went abroad also when I
was a high priest, and have gone
since I was in the Council of the
Twelve, and have been a minute
man in preaching the Gospel
at home all the time, when T have
been at home. It is quite proper
that the seventies while they are at

home should be employed, and they
are being faithfully and well em-
ployed at home by the bishops, and
the presidents of their stakes in
Zion. It is all right that they should
be employed there, but we do want
to come to the time when the seven-
ties will be preaching the Gospel
quite generally in the world, every
man having one opportunity, or two
or three as the case may be.

It took me forty years to perform
my three missions abroad, and the
balance of my life has been in mis-
ions at home, before I was in the
Council and since. I have been in
the field all the time, like Presi-
dent Joseph F. Smith, and many
others of the brethren. We
have been in the field and there
has never been a moment but
what we were minute men and ready
for the fray. I state this matter
now, because I want to draw the at-
tention of the bishops to it. 1 see
the bishops are gathered here, the
high councilors, and presidents of
stakes and so forth, and patriarchs
in front ; and I would like every
bishop and every president to bear
in mind and take home with them
the spirit of the remarks that I am
about to make here to you. We
want you to consider the seventies;
we want you to look after them ;
we want you to breathe the spirit of
their .ministry into them and con-
sider them when application is made
for missionaries from your stakes
and wards. Consider first the seven-
ties : and as far as they are able and
can help each other, able to take care
of themselves, and with what assist-
ance they can get at home, we want
them to come into the field. The
presidents of the missions have been
asking for them, that is, asking for
men of experience, men of age that
have been proven and tried, that

f RESIDENT FRANCIS M. LYMAN.

have been in the field abroad or have
been workers at home.

We want to put able men into the
field, now that the spirit is in the
earth and liberty is being extended,
and especially religious liberty
throughout the earth; we expect it
to be much extended after the war
is over and peace is declared. The
Twelve have been out; they have
been in the world; they have been
in all the countries of the earth
pretty near, and have blessed the
countries and blessed the people and
prepared the way for the preaching
of the Gospel. We have had this in
our hearts and souls for many years,
and are laboring for it, and we want
the way prepared ; we want the sev-
enties that are here in the sound of
my voice and those other brethren
that are here, bishops and presidents
of stakes, to talk upon this subject.
We want them to get ready and pre-
pared for the ministry. We want
them to do what they are able to do,
and we don't want them discour-
aged ; for there are many of them,
although they have business of all
kinds, and have families and are
building their homes, and accom-
plishing wonders at home ; but most
of them will find the way to go into
the field and teach the Gospel, and
they can afford to make some sac-
rifices. WTe must make some sacri-
fices and overcome some difficulties
in order to accomplish what the
Lord requires of us abroad as well
as at home, and at home as well as
abroad. Under the direction of the
Presiding Seventy, as we have been
talking to them latterly and consid-
ering this matter, we desire this call
and this consideration to go to every
stake and ward, and to every council
of the seventies, to councils that are
complete or not complete. We want
the seventies to come to the rescue

and help us in preaching the Gospel,
and we expect to call upon them in-
stead of any others. But remember
that the seventies may not be able to
monopolize the whole field, hence
there will be room for elders and
high priests, and for other experi-
enced men outside of the seventy,
and we want them considered also.
While we have been, for a number
of years, asking that one experi-
enced and trained man should be
furnished for every two of the
younger men that are sent out, we
ask now that there be two well train-
ed and experienced men sent out for
each young and inexperienced man
that is sent. We want able and ex-
perienced men that have been
abroad, or have been laboring most
faithfully at home.

I want to say to the brethren, the
high priests at home, that we do not
want them overlooked ; we want
them considered ; men that have
been bishops or high-counselors, and
have held responsible positions and
had great experience. We want
them to have opportunity to go
abroad as well as the seventies ;
also, we want the balance of the
room that is to spare abroad occu-
pied by able elders. We_ prefer that
you should keep the young men —
such as deacons and teachers and
priests — at home and give them
thorough training in the lesser
priesthood ; and remember that the
deacons have a ministry as well as
the teachers, and the deacons' min-
istry is that of assisting the teachers
when occasion requires ; and I have
always interpreted it that the occa-
sion always requires it. We want
these young men given opportunity,
and we want them employed. We
want the teachers employed ; we
want them to accompany the breth-
ren that are called, the seventies and

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

high priests, and elders that are
operating as teachers at home. We
want the teachers of the lesser
priesthood, and the deacons, to have
opportunity to visit with them, that
they may be trained and have ex-
perience here at home before they
are sent abroad. You would be as-
tonished to see the companies of
young men that are sent to us, inex-
perienced young men, only recently
ordained elders in order to go on
missions. When they give their
genealogies we find they are teach-
ers, sometimes deacons and some-
times priests, that are just ordained
elders in order that they may go
abroad to preach the Gospel, — un-
trained, inexperienced. They should
work at home and train themselves,
and be prepared so that as the sev-
enties are depleted and pass into the
high priests quorum, at the age of
fifty or sixty years, and there is
room there, we want the able, well
trained and experienced elders to
fill their places, so that we may have
seventies enough to take care of the
ministry abroad, as a rule, the ex-
ceptions being where we need to use
the elders and high priests.

There is opportunity for all
abroad; and if there is anything
lacking, and they want opportunity,
we have it at home, for the field at
home will never be overstocked with
men. The high priests and elders at
home, and the seventies who are
generally at home, and will be gen-
erally at home, because they are not
expected all to be in the field ; a
thousand or fifteen hundred or two
thousand on missions at a time will
leave about eight thousand of them
always at home, and we want them
to work at home as well as they have
been doing. Don't use them any
less at home, but give them oppor-
tunities to preach the Gospel at

home as well as abroad. The able
and successful bishops, presidents of
stakes, presidents of seventies and
of elders, and of high priests will
furnish employment ; they will ar-
range affairs and labors at home so
that there is employment for every
man who bears the priesthood.
Every man who bears the priesthood
is entitled to the right and privilege
of magnifying that priesthood, at
home or abroad, and we exhort you
my brethren who have charge of
these matters and are appointed and
ordained for that purpose, we want
you to see to it that employment is
furnished every man that you lay
your hands upon and ordain to the
lesser priesthood or to the Melchize-
dek priesthood. Furnish them em-
ployment at home, and don't be sat-
isfied with having ten or twenty sev-
enties doing something, preaching
the Gospel at home to the strangers,
to those that are not of our faith,
but let the whole army of seventies
at home get into the field, and the
armies of high priests and elders be
in the field, every man magnifying
his calling at home as well as
abroad. Let that be done. We want
that to be done and we will not be
quite satisfied until the brethren can
report that every member of our
quorums of the priesthood is doing
something, accomplishing some-
thing, and you will be astonished at
the converts that can be made at
home.

There are many reported now
from various directions, but many
more will be in a little while, and
you will be astonished — if you go
home from this conference and take
this spirit among the seventies, —
you will be astonished at the num-
ber of seventies that will be ready
at the call and recommendation of
the presidents of stakes and bishops

PRESIDENT FRANCIS M. LYMAN.

of wards, under approval of the pre-
siding seventy. They are acquainted
with them as they are with the other
elders, and they know how to rec-
ommend them, and to consider them
and weigh them. You will be as-
tonished to see how the spirit will
take hold of the seventies, and they
will be prepared and ready for their
work abroad. I want you to bear in
mind that the body of the Twelve
are giving careful attention to these
matters. Every man that goes
abroad comes immediately under the
hands of the Twelve and the first
council of seventies. We bless every
man and set them apart, and our
sisters also who go into the field ;
quite a number of them are being
sent. We are looking after this mat-
ter, and we want everybody bearing
the priesthood, every member of the
priesthood, we want them to have
opportunity to magnify their priest-
hood.

Take labor upon yourselves,
brethren, and provide labor for your
neighbors until every man is cared
for, every high priest that is now
careless and unemployed. It is re-
ported that there are many of the
priesthood unemployed, not fully
occupied, not doing any good work
— nothing is laid out for them. It is
not every man that knows how to
employ himself, but every man
should know how to employ himself
especially when he has had experi-
ence, been abroad in the field, or
laboring at home in important posi-
tions. These brethren should know
how to set themselves to work and
do many things that they are not
told to do that they discover ought
to be done, for the inspiration of the
priesthood should dwell in the heart
of every man who receives it ; his
eyes should be opened, his ears
should be opened, his heart should

be touched, ready and prepared to
do some work for somebody ; and
when you labor for your brother
you always get the chief reward
yourself. You may help him some,
you may do him good, a world of
good, but there is always greater
good comes to you who do the labor
— everyone — and we want that
fashion followed. We don't want to
give our entire attention now to the
seventies, in getting them in their
field, but we want the high priests
taken care of, and we want the
elders taken care of ; for the elders
are two or three times as numerous
as are the seventies, two or three
times as numerous as are the high
priests. The high priests compare
about with the seventies, but the
elders are much more numerous,
and it will put you to your wits' end
to find something for them to do. If
they are idle they are mischievous
and liable to get into trouble and
difficulty, and they should be taken
care of. If they labor, if they work
day by day and magnify their call-
ing they will grow stronger and
stronger unto their perfect day.

Now I feel delighted with this
privilege of speaking to this body
of men, and I want you to remem-
ber what I have said, in connection
with what we have heard here — the
testimonies that have been given us
by the Presidency today. Bear in
mind this mission, and the sugges-
tions and instructions in regard to
the magnifying of the priesthood
here at home, and magnifying it also
abroad. Brother Hyrum M. Smith
has sent quite a requisition for some
able elders that can come and labor
with him, whose conditions and cir-
cumstances at home will allow them
to stay until they have finished their
missions, and that call will be a
small one comparatively. We want

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

at least one seventy from every quo-
rum ; we want five seventies from
every quorum that is able to send
them ; or seven, that will only be one
man out of ten, something- like that,
to go abroad, and the others remain-
ing at home and helping each other
when it is necessary. But you will
be astonished, when you inquire
after the seventies and look right
after them, to find the great number
of them that are able to take care
of themselves and their families,
and go and preach the gospel for
three years and then come home and
stay six or ten years and then go
again when they are wanted.

May the Lord bless you my breth-
ren. Think of these matters, give
attention to them, and yon will find
the presiding seventy around look-
ing after you and feeling after the
members of their quorums, and thev
will be calling upon you and want
you to consider them. Thev have
felt just a little bit overlooked. T
believe the seventies have b°en over-
looked too much, and we have de-
pended upon elders, and young men
and inexnerienced men to go out
and preach the Gospel in the world,
and we want all the brethren to have
opportunity to magnify their calling
as they are required. You notice
whenever we call men to preside
over stakes, or over wards, or over
quorums, or to go on missions, that
they are expected to go at once into
the field, and so it should be with
every man who receives the priest-
hood. TTe receives a commission
from the Lord, and he should take
hold of it and magnify it to the best
of his ability, and the Lord will open
the way for the good that is possible
for him to accomplish.

God bless you, my brethren and
sisters, I pray. Let the spirit of this
conference go home with you, and

vou will be astonished what will be
accomplished within the next six
months, between now and October ;
and the presiding" seventies will be
able to tell us quite a story of what
is being done in this movement for
the seventies. May the Lord bless
vou I pray in the name of Jesus.
Amen.

President Smith read several
notices, and said :

"Now, I don't want any of you
to put your hands in your pockets,
for fear somebody will see you do
it. but I am requested to warn the
congregation to look after their
valuables if they have any with
them, as we are favored— or un-
fortunate— to have a large number
of light-fingered "gentlemen" in the
city, who are on their wax- to the
San Francisco Fair, and are look-
ing out for a chance. Take care of
your money, and don't show them
where it is."

"A Lullaby" was rendered by a
chorus of ladies, conducted by ^i>ter
Lizzie Thomas Edward.

The anthem. "Grant us Peace,"
was sung by the choir, Mrs. Sarah
L. Wood and James Moncar ren-
dering the duet.

Bishop David A. Smith pro-
nounced the benediction.

Conference adjourned until Mon-
day, April 5th, at 10 a. m.

SECOND OVERFLOW
MEETING.

Another meeting of the Confer-
ence was held in the Assembly Hall,
at 2 p. m., at which Elder Joseph F.
Smith, Jr., presided ; and the Cot-
tonwood stake choir was again in
attendance.

ELDER WALTER P. MONSON.

The service was commenced by
the Choir singing-, the hymn :

"An angel from on high,

The long, long silence broke."

Prayer was offered by Bishop
Joseph A. Buttle.

The Choir sang the anthem,
"Daughter of Zion."

ELDER WALTER P. MONSON.

(President of Eastern States Mission.)

Words fail to express the grati-
tude which I have in meeting with
you, this beautiful Easter Sunday,
and in experiencing the sweet in-
fluence which has characterized this
conference thus far. I have often
heard, while in the world, the beau-
tiful hymn :

"O ye mountains high,
Where the clear blue sky

Arches over the vales of the free;
Where the pure breezes blow,
And the clear streamlets flow,

How I long to your bosom to flee."

Never has that hymn been sung,
in my hearing, while I have been
away from the body of the Church,
but what I have had a longing, a
yearning for this land which is so
dear to me. I have often thought of
St. Bernard who, when he visited
Switzerland, looked over the beau-
tiful lakes, and saw the magnificent
picture that was presented to him,
how he covered his eyes lest the
glorious scenes should detract from
his love for duty, and from the love
which he bore to his Maker. When
I come into the vales of these moun-
tains, and see the snow-capped
peaks, that are familiar to me, there
seems to be a necessity for me to
cover my eyes also, lest the appeal
should be so strong that it would

detract from my desire to do my
duty. I love these glorious moun-
tains, and more than the mountains,
I love the people who dwell here.
More than the people who dwell
here, even father and mother, houses
and lands, and wife and children, I
love that cause which I have been
sent out into the world to represent.

Eighty-five years ago this Church
was organized with only six mem-
bers, in the State of New York, the
state where, perhaps, the greatest
opposition is now prevailing against
this work, and against this people.
When we look over our weekly re-
ports, in the mission field, we see
there are only few baptisms, if any.
The elders are plodding along, as it
were, gleaning from among the
crowded cities of the world, and
from country districts, those who
have a greater love for God than
they have for their self-ambitions.
It seems that the progress is not of
the proportions that our elders
would like to see it ; arid oftentimes
an elder will express himself, that
he cannot see any good resulting
from his labors. But when we stop
to consider the report that was read
this morning by our beloved Presi-
dent, Joseph F. Smith, and see how
the Saints have been gathered from
the various parts of the earth, how
diligent they have been, not merely
seeking this world's treasures, but
how willingly they have laid' on the
altar of sacrifice much of the means
they have acquired to come and
enter the House of the Lord, where
they have done a magnificent and
stupendous work for those who have
gone beyond, those that were less
fortunate than we. It causes my
heart to leap with joy to know that
my parents had the courage and
fortitude to leave their possessions,
and everything that was near and

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

clear unto them, and come into these
valleys of the mountains, where such
love for truth can bear fruit in the
hearts of their children.

I love the people of the Lord. I
love to see the progress that this
work is making. Perhaps that can-
not be seen or counted numerically
only. I believe that the Almighty
has anticipated this very condition,
for we read in the 13th chapter of
Matthew a statement made by the
Master, that the kingdom of God
was likened unto leaven which was
hid in three measures of meal, and
which leavened the whole lump. In
order to measure the success attend-
ant upon the work of the mission-
aries in the world, one must under-
stand what the teachings of sectar-
ian ministers were about eighty-five
years ago, in the year 1830, and then
compare the teachings of the same
sects and organizations of today.
If you will turn back the pages of
ecclesiastical history, you will find
great speakers whose sermons are a
matter of record, who taught that
awful doctrine of hell fire, that un-
less a person would be willing to
kneel before the penitent bench, he
would go into an ever-burning and
never-ending hell. About twenty-
five years ago this doctrine began to
be disowned by the churches of the
world, and thus it seems that one
particle of the Gospel leaven has
entered into the souls of the children
of men, and they have cast off that
damnable doctrine. Also, there was
the doctrine taught that infants,
whose parents refused to have them
christened, or baptized, would go to
a never-ending hell, there, perhaps,
to serve as kindling for the devil.
But these things have now been dis-
carded. I doubt whether there was
ever a person who has lived upon
the earth, and who had been called

upon to lay away a little one from
its mother's arms, and buried it in
the grave that ever thought that that
child went to hell. It is people out-
side of that relationship who have
thought that such a little one was
going to a never-ending hell. The
love of Christ has more fully entered
into the hearts of the children of
men. All are growing nearer to it,
and even though the people seek to
destroy the work of the Lord, yet
these things which God has or-
dained, these works which He has
performed, albeit by the slowest
growth, will stand and endure. Some
one has said, ''God can make an oak
tree in a hundred years, and can
make a mush-room in one night."
We must reach out to the one hun-
dred year mark before the wonder-
ful growth is fully recognized, as
shown by the testimonial that you
give in your attendance upon this
conference, and the love and devo-
tion you show to the cause.

In looking through one of the
large book stores in New York City,
I discovered a work entitled "A
Century's Change in religion." This
has come from the press at as late
a date as Nov., 1914. It is written
by one George Harris, a very
learned divine. There are many
things contained therein that we
cannot accept, I may say, as gospel
truth ; yet there are many things
which he points out that have come
about by the evolution of thought,
and the culling process of truth. The
author shows how many of the er-
rors which our fathers inherited
have been dead and buried for a
number of years. I desire to read
an extract from his Introductory :

"I select this period also because a
large part of it is within the recollec-
tion of many now living. Indeed,
those discoveries and influences which

ELDER WALTER P. MO N SON

have, or are supposed to have, brought
these changes have come upon us
within the last fifty years. I do not
mean that religious beliefs and prac-
tices were stationary for eighteen
hundred years, or during the first half
of the 19th century, but that the
changes of the last fifty years are more
marked than those, we may almost
say, of all the time preceding."

Is it not a remarkable statement
for a minister to make, that the last
fifty years has seen greater religious
advancement than all preceding time
since Jesus came and ushered in His
reign. I wonder if we realize the
effect of the efforts of our humble
elders in crystalizing these truths
in the hearts of the children of men.
Now I will read to you an extract
concerning a doctrine that has been
entirely ignored, or ridiculed, by
most of the ministers of the Chris-
tian world. It was a startling reve-
lation to me to know that people in
the world have so far ran into the
realm of truth that they are growing
into the desire to do work for their
dead :

"About thirty years ago a curious
controversy arose, as to the decisive-
ness of this life. It led to the trial of
five' professors in the Theological
Seminary at Andover, Massachusetts,
who, it was alleged, taught that those
who had not heard of Christ in this
life, the heathen, the generations be-
fore Christ, might, after death, have
knowledge of Him and repent and be
saved. A foreign missionary society
refused for several years to appoint
as missonaries young men who
thought it possible that those who
did not have the Gospel in this life
might, after death, have opportunity
to believe on Christ, or who went no
further than saying that they did not
know the fate of the heathen.

"The accused professors argued
from the universality of the Gospel.
Christ died for all men, and since none
can be saved except they believe on
Christ, it would seem that all men will
have the opportunity of knowing

Christ; that if there are any, and there
are certainly many, who do not know
Him in this life, they will know Him
in the intermediate state, before the
day of judgment. It was thought that
scripture lends itself to such a hope,
for an apostle says that Christ, 'having
been put to death in the flesh, but
quickened in the spirit, went and
preached unto the spirits in prison
which aforetime were disobedient in
the time of Noah;' and again says, 'For
unto this end was the Gospel preached
even to the dead;' and the most
ancient creed of the Church says, that
Christ crucified, dead and buried, de-
scended into Hades, the abode of de-
parted spirit.

"The accusers said that scripture is
emphatic on the decisiveness of this
life, since it affirms that men shall
be judged acording to the deeds done
in the body; that now is the day of
salvation; and said that the passages
in Peter are obscure. They also de-
clared that the 'nerve of missions'
would be cut, if it were supposed that
the heathen would have opportunity
of salvation after death; that is, that
the motive of missions is the fact that
the heathen are going down to perdi-
tion. Other charges were brought, as
that the professors taught that there
are imperfections in the Bible; but
the gravamen of the accusation was
that these teachers believed and taught
that there may be a second probation,
and that such an opinion is very
dangerous, that men will postpone re-
pentance to a more convenient season.

"The Board of Visitors of the
Seminary, before whom the professors
were tried, removed one of them from
office, acquitting four, although the
evidence was the same for all; the
case was carried to the Supreme Court
of Massachusetts; the decision of the
Visitors against the removed professor
was declared invalid, on the ground
that the other Board of the Seminary,
the Trustees, were not made a part in
the trial. It is not yet twenty-five
years since the verdict was given, yet
it is rather difficult not to realze what
it was all about. It shows, however,
how real the unseen world was, how
intimately related the realms of light
and darkness were to this world in
the thought of men."

Now I wonder where they got

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

that from ! Surely the spirit of
Elijah has spread out over the
world, and it is "turning the hearts
of the fathers to the children and
the hearts of the children to the
fathers, lest the earth be smitten
with a curse." I will read a little
further :

"We do not profess so intimate
knowledge of the unseen world, nor
affirm positively that this life deter-
mines the life to come. We do not
speculate about it, we refuse to be-
leve that all who have not consciously
accepted Christ, those cut off in youth,
those who grew up in vicious sur-
roundings, those who never heard of
Christ, are doomed to eternal woe.
The mercy of the Lord is from ever-
lasting to everlasting. And now a
very orthodox writer says, in a book
published by the American Tract
Society which is most evangelical,
and no one protests:

" 'We repeat with all sacred empha-
sis the words, ' 'the Gospel was
preached even to the dead." We note
the instance that is given, the spirits
in prison, which aforetime were diso-
bedient in the time of Noah, that is,
the spirits of those who perished in the
flood. We must not dogmatize,
we need not vainly guess; but
we may reverently affirm that the Son
of man is capable of reaching and in-
fluencing the souls of men on yon side
of the veil, as well as on this; and that
in a degree and by means infinitely
beyond anything that science or faith
can either dream or discover.' "

The same writer says :

" 'The horrible invention of a pur-
gatory, from which man's enlightened
conscience revolts, and which the
Word of God makes absolutely incred-
ible, has produced a violent reaction
in modern minds, whereby even the
idea of Hades — the scriptural idea of
an intermediate state, where departed
spirits await the resurrection of their
bodies — is rudely blotted out, and so
one of the grandest and one of the
most fruitful periods of man's educa-
tion for eternity is an utter blank in
the minds of most of us. But we re-
fuse to be robbed of what the Holy
Ghost saith; whether by the abuses

of Roman excess or by the violence
of Protestant reaction. We hold to
the teaching of Holy Scripture — what-
ever may be the peril to a narrow
sectarian type of orthodoxy. There
is no purgatory, but there is an inter-
mediate state. And the only glimpse
we get into that world unseen
(Hades), reveals to us the Spirit of
Jesus proclaiming His Gospel unto
the dead. Here let our authoritative
teaching regarding the matter begin
and end, flooding all the world of
Hades with the light of the Savior's
presence and the music of his blessed
voice.' '

"I think all will agree that everlast-
ing punishment is seldom, if ever,
mentioned in the pulpit now that the
word 'hell' seldom crosses the lips of
any preacher. While it is believed
that a man may be morally ruined, the
conception is rather of character de-
based, degenerated beyond hope of re-
covery, than of acute physical suf-
fering. The fire that is not quenched,
the worm that dieth not, are, it is
thought, figures of corrosion and de-
cay. The lake that burnetii with fire
and brimstone for ever and ever is
symbolic of lost souls consumed with
remorse. There is nothing more
dreadful than a ruined soul, a hard-
ened heart. Character is fixed by
purpose, and it may be that after a
time it cannot be changed. Judgment
is upon character; heaven is good
character, Christ-like character; hell
is bad character, selfish, grasping, un-
sympathetic character."

Some "Mormon" elder must have
explained these blessed principles to
those who were moved upon to write
such glorious truths. When we see
the leaven raising the entire lump,
our hearts are made to rejoice in the
Holy One of Israel. His work is
not marked out by that which can
be seen by human eyes, but it is
eternal in character, and of univer-
sal dominion, and will endure
throughout the ages to come.

I rejoice in having this oppor-
tunity of bearing my testimony, my
brethren and sisters, for I feel that
I know that God lives. There is no

ELDER JOHN W. HART.

fiber of my being that does not re-
spond in joyous love to God, for
the light and truth that He has
given unto me, for I feel that the
most sacred obligation that I have
is to see to it that the sentiment
never enters my heart, "Am I my
brother's keeper?" The Lord has
said of His Saints-. "Ye are the
salt of the earth." No good house-
wife ever makes a meal of salt, she
uses just enough to make the meal
palatable. Your sons and daughters
out in the mission field, are a
Sprinkling of salt in the fleshpots of
the world. O, it causes my heart
to rejoice to contemplate these
things. An article from a very
scholarly writer, says that the word
"salt" and the word "Savior" came
from the same root word. You
now can see the beauty in the pass-
age with such an explanation, "Ye
are the salt of the earth" — ye are
the saviors of the earth. How many
of us have had it stated in our
patriarchal blessings : "And you
shall come forth and stand as a
savior on Mount Zion, crowned with
immortality and eternal life !"

May God bless us with His Holy
Spirit, that the greater degree of the
religion of love, which is sure to
follow the darkness of the exist-
ing horrible war, may find a rest-
ing place first in the hearts of God's
people throughout the world, as
enunciated by our beloved prophet,
seer and revelator this morning.
May God add His blessing to us all,
I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

ELDER JOHN W. HART.

(President of Rigby Stake.)

My brethren and sisters, I am
here this afternoon because I was
requested to be here. I always pre-
fer to sit in the audience rather than

to occupy a place upon the stand. I
am entirely relying upon the Spirit
of the Lord to assist me in this posi-
tion this afternoon. I know that if
I say anything that will be of in-
terest to us, or be beneficial, that it
will be through His help, because in
and of myself I am inadequate to
successfully occupy such a respon-
sible position as has been allotted to
me here.

There is a passage of scripture
that very often comes to my mind.
It is a passage that I think of a
great deal, as it seems to me of great
importance to all mankind: "This
is eternal life to know Thee, the only
true God and Jesus Christ whom
Thou hast sent." In other words,
if we attain to the greatest blessing
that is in store for mankind, that of
eternal life, it is absolutely necessary
that we gain for ourselves a knowl-
edge of the Father and of the Son,
a knowledge of their attributes, of
their characteristics and of our re-
lationship to them, as mortals here
upon the earth. I want to say, my
brethren and sisters, that the key of
this knowledge has been restored to
the earth in this dispensation. It
has come through the restoration of
the Gospel to the Prophet Joseph
Smith. We are fully aware that, at
the time when this great revelation
was given unto this young man,
actual knowledge of the Son of God
and our Heavenly Father was not in
existence in the world. There was
no religious denomination teaching
the truth concerning those holy
Beings. Mankind were being taught
that God, our Heavenly Father, was
a Being or a something that was not
tangible, that He had neither body,
parts nor passions, that He was
some mythical being that we could
not and ought not to be able to be-
hold, or comprehend. I am justified

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

in saying that, at the present time,
by virtue of this key of knowledge
coming to earth in this dispensation,
and through the proclamation there-
of by our humble elders, who have
been sent to the world to preach the
Gospel, the doctrine of a bodiless
and passionless God, and a throne-
less heaven, is not so prevalent, and
the truth is taking the place thereof.

One of the great testimonies that
has come under my observation, is
the change that is taking hold of
men's minds concerning religious
principles and doctrines. Great men
have come forward and advocated a
principle that borders on the truth
that has been restored to the Latter-
day Saints. They have not got it
from any of their creeds, because it
is not taught in any of them ; but
they perceived a glimmer of light,
and they have put forth their views
along these lines, and it appears that
they are approaching a true and cor-
rect theory and idea concerning
God, our Eternal Father, and Jesus
Christ whom He hath sent.

These wonderful conference gath-
erings, are also a testimony to me,
and I do not know where you could
go in all the world and see anything
equal to this that is before us today,
these wonderful gatherings of peo-
ple from all parts of the earth, we
might say. ' They have come up here
according to appointment, to be in-
structed in the ways of the Lord.
They have left their labors, their
business and their worldly affairs
behind them. They spend their own
money, and give their time and
means to come here and hear in-
structions from the Lord, that they
may carry them back to the people
with whom they associate in these
United States, and abroad also. We
do not gain converts through hold-
ing religious revivals, or on account

of being able to send men into the
world who have acquired ability to
preach the Gospel; but we send,
largely, young boys and girls who
are inexperienced, and they humble
themselves before the Lord, and
carry this message to the world. It
is through their humility, their
cleanliness of life, their honesty of
purpose, that mankind are attracted
to them, and listen to the truth they
proclaim. There is no organization
in the world that conducts its prose-
lyting along lines like these. They
would be afraid to send their young
men and young women into the
world as we do. I venture to say
that if they sent such missionaries
among the Latter-day Saints, we
would be the cause of their return-
ing home with their religious views
largely expanded, at least.

This work is growing. We can
hardly comprehend its magnitude.
In the state of Idaho, where I live,
there are from seventy to seventy-
five thousand Latter-day Saints, and
we are increasing. The influence of
the Church is being felt ; it is ex-
tending, results are beginning to be
known and noticed, and we are glad
to say that we see and realize good
coming therefrom. We are doing
all in our power to maintain the
good influence of this great work
that has been entrusted into our care
in the state of Idaho. We are pro-
gressing. I can state to you in truth-
fulness that Idaho, the state of my
adoption, has today upon its statutes
the most drastic, honest, clean-cut,
effective temperance legislation of
any state in this nation. I want to
warn those who do not live within
the confines of that state that, after
the fourth of next May, if you visit
us it will be unlawful for you to
cross the line into Idaho "with any-
thing in the way of intoxicants in

ELDER MELVIN J. BALLARD.

your possession. I am thankful for
this. I feel that we have now, to this
extent at least, been enabled to
throw safeguards around our young
people, that they will not have these
temptations to intemperance placed
before them, and we will be enabled
to devote our attention to other lines
of improvement. We have ample
opportunity for advancement along
other lines, but this is a good start.
I believe, my brethren and sisters,
that one of the evils we should rem-
edy in the communities of the Lat-
ter-day Saints, as well as elsewhere,
is the vicious forms of dancing. The
methods and styles that are being
adopted in that line, in a great many
instances, are abominable. We who
hold responsible positions, and have
received the priesthood of the Mas-
ter, should exert our influence and
efforts to eradicate this evil. We
ought to be as energetic in driving
all evil things from our midst as the
Savior of mankind was in driving
the money changers out of the tem-
ple.

I hope and pray that we will be
enabled to fulfill our obligations in
these responsible conditions, and
handle the problems confronting us
honestly and conscientiously, that
good may result from our efforts ;
and mav the Lord bless us to this
end. May He give us strength to
do our duty. May He bless us with
wisdom and understanding, that we
will be enabled to see and compre-
hend our duties and thwart the en-
emv of the souls of our people. May
His testimony be with us, that we
mav grow in faith, that we may
prosper and advance spiritually.
Mav we gain for ourselves a knowl-
edge of the Father and of the Son.
and thereby secure the great bless-
ing of eternal life, is my prayer, in
the name of Jesus. Amen.

The Choir sang the anthem, "Gos-
pel Restoration ;" the solo part was
rendered by Sister Nellie Bennion.

ELDER MELVIN J. BALLARD.

(President of Northwestern States
Mission.)

In the world, where we mission-
aries are laboring, it becomes neces-
sary to combat a false and erroneous
impression that generally prevails
among the religious denominations
of today, that by mere lip service
men can please God, and that by
simply giving their hand to the min-
ister who, at the revival, has touch-
ed their hearts, they have then ob-
tained religion and have passed to
salvation ; or, by simply saying that
they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
they then shall be saved ; or who are
content to lull themselves into a
sense of supposed security by re-
peating the words of the scripture,
that "the blood of Christ cleanseth
us from all sin." The disposition
and feeling is, to get this matter of
religion over and through with in as
little time as possible. And then the
religious person thinks he is saved.
I remember while doing missionary
work in the city of St. Louis, several
years ago, reading at the entrance
of a tent where gospel meetings
were held, where a man was preach-
ing healing by faith, as well as ex-
pounding his views of the doctrines
of the gospel — a sign which ran:
"Come and be healed and saved in
15 minutes."

There are many in the world who
believe they can be saved in 15 min-
utes. They remember the night they-
were saved. They recall distinctly-
the hour. Thev have had no experi-
ences beyond that time. Sometimes
I have attended these religious re-
vivals, when the minister has asked

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

those who were present who were
saved to stand up, and I have never
yet thought I was able to stand up.
I remember on one occasion, as was
usual, of a good sister coming to
those who were sitting; she said to
me, "Why, brother, are you not
saved?" "No." said I, "I am not
yet. I have been struggling for sal-
vation, trying to obtain it, and to
teach others how to get it, for many
years. I do not know what I will
do tomorrow, however ; I may lose
it all then. I understand that 'the
race is not to the swift nor the battle
to the strong, but he that endureth
to the end shall be saved.' "

I have thought, as we have rather
criticized the narrow view that some
take of this matter of salvation, if
we Latter-day Saints are not more
or less affected by the same feelings,
that we, once having received the
gospel, having been baptized, count
ourselves in fair condition for sal-
vation. I discover occasionally, in
the mission field, those who are
drifting, claiming they are members
of the church. They can remember
that one time they were baptized,
though sometimes they do not have
the record of it ; but, just as long as
they have been baptized, they feel
that they are in a saved condition.
I want to say to you. my brethren
and sisters, not perhaps that you
need it quite so much as some of
us out in the mission field, and yet
1 cannot hell) feeling that, even at
home, we need to be told that we
must do more than repent of our'
sins and be baptized. And what do
we mean by repenting of our sins?
We mean that we have forsaken the
sins we have been guilty of. that
we do not sin again, that when we
have thus repented, if we have
wronged or injured a man or wom-
an, if we have it within our power

to repair that injury, that we go to
them and repair that wrong before
our baptism will be approved of and
fully acceptable before the Lord.
As we have told those who repent
in the world : "Have you wronged
a man or woman, from which wrong
the man or woman is now suffering?
If so, and it is in your power to go
to that man or woman and make the
wrong right, you should do it. I
believe that is the thing God desires
of those who accept baptism at His
hands.

I had an experience in a northern
city, a few weeks ago, where two
physicians offered themselves for
baptism, a man and a woman — not
related, though living in the same
town and following the same pro-
fession. I concluded, after investi-
gation, that they were not ready for
baptism ; so I asked them to defer
their baptism. T felt impressed, as
John did, when he said : "Who hath
warned you to flee from the wrath
to come? Bring forth fruit meet
for repentance." That was my spirit
and feeling toward them. And yet
our hearts go out and we put forth
our earnest efforts to bring men into
the Church, those who are ready and
prepared. In this case, however, T
decided to seek the mind and will
of God. Through prayer and con-
templation it was revealed to me
that thev were in sin and transgres-
sion. And T wrote and told them
what their sins were, and told them
that it would be bringing condemna-
tion upon their own souls to offer
themselves to receive the holy and
sacred ordinance of baptism when
yet in their sins, in their transgres-
sion and iniquity. The woman is
repenting, but the man is filled with
ragr. But everv word that T wrote
them was confirmed by voluntary
testimony from those informed

ELDER MELVIN J. BALLARD.

about these people, that they were
guilty of wrong doing, and were
seeking to come into this Church to
cover up their crimes and shield
them from exposure, while they still
continued in their sins.

We are not seeking for men to be
baptized into the Church unless they
have truly and sincerely repented ;
and when they have thus repented
and gone into the waters of baptism,
and have covenanted with God to
serve Him and keep His command-
ments, I know that their sins are
forgiven them. I have seen those
who have sinned and done wrong, in
their ignorance, repent before God,
and receive the ordinance of bap-
tism, and have their whole heart
changed, and their countenance also
become like that of a child. It has
been a matter of astonishment to
their neighbors and relatives, who
would say : "What has happened to
Brother So-and-So? How changed
he is ! What transformation has
come over his whole life !" So I
know there is virtue and effect and
power in the ordinance of baptism
for the remission of sins. But we
must know, as Latter-day Saints,
that we should not stop here ; we
have only put on the armor, only
begun the battle when we have ac-
cepted the ordinance of baptism, and
had hands laid upon us for the gift
of the Holy Ghost, who will teach
us what else we should do. And
there is no one thing that we can do
and gain salvation, as was manifest
in the answer of the Christ to the
voting man who came asking the
Master what thing he should do to
inherit eternal life, he was like some
of us who feel after we have done
one or two things our salvation
should be granted. Not one but
many things the Master required of
him, he answered, "All these have

I kept from my youth up ; what lack
I yet?" Many other requirements
were made of him, which he could
not meet and we are told that the
young man went away sorrowing.
Do you think that you and I will
have our anticipations of salvation
in the kingdom of God realized on
any less terms than were offered to
this young man ? I tell you nay. I
tell you that, to receive the ordi-
nance of baptism, and the laying on
of hands for the gift of the Holy
Ghost, is only to put on the armor,
just to equip us for the battle ; and
many of us have put on the armor,
and it is rusty, we haven't done any-
thing beyond receiving these ordi-
nances.. As often happens with
those who are given greater light
and knowledge, like the self-right-
eous Pharisee ; thank God they are
not like yonder poor sinner. Some-
times we discover that those who
have entered into a covenant to
serve God do not live any better
lives as Latter-day Saints than they
lived as Methodists or Baptists, and
this will stand against them as cove-
nant breakers. We covenanted and
agreed when we were baptized to
obey all God's laws, and keep all the
requirements that He' would make
known unto us for our perfection
and salvation.

Let me name some of the addi-
tional requirements. Peter enumer-
ated them in his second epistle, and
they are appropriate for Latter-day
Saints today. I don't hope to paint
any new picture of what we must
do to be saved, but just brighten the
old one, or make it a little more
luminous. I think these conferences
are splendid occasions for us to
sweep the cobwebs off from our
spiritual vision, and think upon the
things that we agreed in our hearts
to do when we were received as

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

members of the Church, when we
covenanted with God to serve Him,
as we entered into the waters of
baptism. We remember the price
our fathers and mothers were will-
ing to pay for salvation, with what a
spirit of determination they sacri-
ficed, when they left all to come out
of the world to these valleys of the
mountains, crossing the plains and
blazing the way to provide more
favorable opportunities for us to in-
corporate into our lives the splendid
things necessary to prepare us to
live in the celestial kingdom of God.

Peter said : "And beside this
[having complied with the first prin-
ciples,] giving all diligence, add to
your faith virtue, and to virtue
knowledge." What is the standard
of the Latter-day Saints, with re-
spect to virtue ? You brethren and
sisters know. You young men and
young women know, who have been
taught and reared in the Church ;
we have learned it from our fatbers
and mothers, that it would be better
for we boys and girls to lose our
lives than to lose our virtue, that
we would rather die than to be de-
spoiled, or despoil any of the daugh-
ters of God. This is the standard
that has been fixed for us, and it is
not a double standard : the boy must
live just as pure and innocent in his
life as the girl whom he would ac-
cept as his wife. We have not al-
lowed one standard of morality for
one class, or one sex, and another
for another. There are those in the
world, and I think some of them
may be here, who seek to wrest the
scriptures, and seek to justify them-
selves in departing from the path
of rectitude and virtue. Tt is some-
what common for people to pretend
to think that the old law has passed
away, the law that said, though shalt
not commit adulterv. But the es-

sence of the law has not passed
away, though a higher one has
come. Jesus not only said, "Thou
shalt not commit adultery," but "He
that looketh upon a woman to lust
after her hath already committed
adultery in his heart."

I tell you there is a terrible wave
of immorality sweeping over the
world, stalking abroad in high
places and in low places, affecting
not only the single but the married,
not only the married men but the
married women. I wonder if Zion
can stand unscathed by the influence
of that wave. It will come, if it has
not come already to you, and you
must beware. Do not take too much
for granted from your sons and
daughters. Do not mistrust them,
but yet live so close to them that
you do know the very secret
thoughts of their hearts, and the
trend of their lives. Hold sacred
the duty to do everything you can
to prevent the loss of human souls,
for this wave will sweep before it
to death and destruction those who
do not hold themselves clean and
pure in thought, in their hearts, and
in their lives.

I want to tell you, if Zion shall
succeed in preserving this genera-
tion from the damning influences of
immorality and licentiousness, the
world will yet say of the member^
of this Church, who survive the
tremendous influences and forces
that are seeking to push the people
of the whole world into the pitfalls
of sin, greater things to their honor
than anything they have yet said
about our fathers who founded a
commonwealth, and made the desert
blossom as the rose. We are still
in the struggle to establish a new
order of things in the world, a new
race of men ancf women, whose
hearts and intents are clean and

ELDER MELVIN J. BALLARD.

pure. We are here to fulfill the
words of one who said that we must
live so that if our -hearts were dis-
closed, turned outside in, it would
not show a single stain of sin ; that
we should give our name and word
to no document or agreement that
we would not be unwilling for the
angels to attest as witnesses ; that
we should walk, unseduced, through
life, within arm's length of that
which is not ours, and nothing be-
tween us and the gratification of our
desires, but the indomitable law of
rectitude, and stand forth in the
world as pure and clean as if we
were in the presence of God Him-
self. This is what we should strive
for, and it is the standard of virtue
that we must attain. I must tell you
that the men or women who think
they can go into the sacred temples,
and receive the blessings there to be
obtained, can commit sins of this
character, and escape the conse-
quences will come up missing when
they meet the examination that men
and women will have to pass before
entering into the kingdom of heav-
en, for no unclean thing can go
there. And so we have to struggle
with this power that is aimed at
frail humanity.

And then we are to "add to our
virtue knowledge." You know we
believe in knowledge. "The glory
of God is intelligence" was one of
the favorite sayings of the Prophet
Joseph Smith ; and we believe in
study, we believe in learning. We
are not afraid to investigate any-
thing ; but I believe that every boy
and girl, before they go away from
home to school, and especially be-
fore they go out of our own circles
into the world elsewhere, should
gain for themselves an undying tes-
timony that God lives, and that
Jesus is the Christ ; that the gospel

is indeed the very truth of God.
Men must have a true measuring
rod to determine whether knowl-
edge which comes to them is true
or false. They must have a true
balance or rule that is always re-
liable, always dependable, by which
they can weigh or measure every
particle of information that comes
to them. What will this rule be?
I have discovered that the sure ac-
tion of my soul is the knowledge I
have that God lives, that Jesus is the
Christ, and that our Father in heav-
en has spoken, that those truths con-
tained in the revelations of God in
the Bible, Book of Mormon, and
Doctrine and Covenants, are the
very eternal truth. I have accepted
them as my measuring rod, and I
have not accepted as the final truth
anything that does not square up to
those eternal truths, that does not
harmonize with the truth I have
from God. Truth will harmonize
with itself. Let us adopt this stand-
ard when we go out into the world,
and seek the world's knowledge, its
science, and everything pertaining
to the world and the world's work,
and we shall be saved from ship-
wreck.

We have heard from our child-
hood that the day would come when
the Latter-day Saints would be the
leaders of the world. I proclaim
to you that within one hundred
years, and perhaps before that time,
the men who will be standing in the
very vanguard in directing and
piloting the world's thought, knowl-
edge and power, shall come from
the Latter-day Saints. Any people
who are possessed of the truth w<
have, who will live up to the doc-
trines we have received, will come
to be the light of the world, I don't
care who they are, they will come
to the top just as sure as the sun

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

shines. So we are not afraid of
true knowledge.

And we are to "add to our knowl-
edge temperance." I thank God that
Idaho where so many of us live can
say, as Brother Hart has just ad-
vised us, has taken a great step in
adopting prohibition towards an end
so dear to the heart of every Latter-
day Saint. We have received in the
Word of Wisdom the higher law of
temperance, and it is after all the
thing that is necessary to be secured,
to eradicate out of the hearts of
men the spirit and disposition to
drink intoxicating liquors. We be-
lieve that it is necessary for man-
kind not only to abolish the saloon,
but we should abolish the very de-
sire for it, we should spurn the de-
sire for strong drink, crush it out
and destroy it, that it may not con-
taminate our souls, that we transmit
to our posterity no longing for that
which will defile their bodies. What
a shame that some of us do not ap-
preciate the blessed heritage we
have received from our fathers and
mothers, who a generation Or two
ago, left these things in the old
world, and banished them from
their lives. We know that the eye
of the world is turned on Utah, and
the "Mormons." We have told
them of our high standard of tem-
perance, and that we believe in pro-
hibition. Many of them have been
watching us. We have told them
we would be true to the cause and
destroy the whole damnable evil. 1
can't tell you how our hearts sank,
and how we were shocked to know
that when, apparently, we had it
within our grasp to clear the balance
of our state, the opportunity has
slipped. I hope you will not aban-
don the cause, that you will espouse
it so loyally that you will get it next
time, and make it just as strong as

Idaho has. In the meantime, we
stand for temperance in all things.

This is the time for men to repent.
You will discover that there are ap-
petites and desires to conquer, and
this life is the molding time ; this is
the plastic age, and the material well-
tempered ; and when fashioned we
become brittle and hard. It will be
difficult for us to change the old
vessel when it is once moulded. Let
us see to it, while the material is
pliable, we incorporate into our lives
those precious truths that our bodies
may be beautiful to look upon, and
we will love them, that we will de-
sire to receive them again, and that
they will not be to us a hideous
monument, but full of all goodness
and beauty.

We are to "add to our temperance
patience." , Do you think that one
though he has lived up to all these
other requirements of the gospel,
but. when mad rage strikes him,
yields to the wiles of the evil one, —
is a fit subject for the celestial king-
dom of God? Do you suppose our
Father in heaven will allow a scene
like that in His presence? I tell you
such a one will go outside, and stay
there until he has acquired control
of his temper, until he has mastered
his viciousness. We must have pa-
tience with ourselves and patience
with others, and not try to make
everybody else measure up with our
standard. We will discover there
are those who will set us an example
in some things, while we can set
them an example in others.

"Add to your patience godliness."
Godliness, we know, is cleanliness
and purity, not only outside but in-
side.

"Add to godliness brotherly kind-
ness and charity." If you want to
know what true charity is, read
what Paul says, "Charity vaunteth

ELDER MELVIN J. BALLARD.

not itself," "desireth no evil,'' and
so forth.

O, my brethren and sisters, there
is work yet for me and for yon to
do. I do not want to make it appear
that it is not possible to accomplish
all this. It is, and I want yon to
understand that not one single re-
quirement that has been made is
non-essential. The men or women
who' become candidates for celestial
glory must come np to these re-
quirements, or they will not get in.
James said, "He that keepeth the
whole law, and yet offendeth in one
thing is guilty of breaking all."
What did he mean? He did not
mean that the man who broke only
one commandment was in the same
condition as the one who did not
keep any, but that when he had kept
all except one he was not able to
attain celestial glory until he kept
the other requirement. For instance,
it is necessary that specific things be
compiled with in order to produce
electricity, and if we neglect one
particular item, do you sunpose we
will o-et electricity? No. We are as
though Ave had not done anything
so far as final results Right] is con-
cerned ; although we had done nine
things required, and yet lack one.
So I say to you that not one of the
gospel requirements is non-essential.
Thev are not given out of caprice
of the mind of Jesus, they are eter-
nal truths, just as eternal as the
heavens are eternal, and as the law
of gravitation is eternal ; we must
observe them if we will gain celes-
tial glory.

Confucius said that those who
know the truth are not as great as
those who love it. I would like to
paraphrase his words, and say that
those who know the truth as we do
are not as great as those of us who
love it and obey it, for "he that

knoweth the Master's will and doeth
it not shall be beaten with many
stripes." I do not want the
Latter-day Saints to lose their op-
portunity. Shame upon us Latter-
day Saints if it can be said, truth-
fully, that in the Christian Scientist
church a more beautiful spirit pre-
vails than among the Latter-day
Saints. While I recognize that the
Christian Scientists make a hobby
of this doctrine of brotherly love, it
cannot and should not be said that
there exists more brotherly love in
that church than with the Latter-
day Saints. Suppose the Seventh
Day Adventists, who have copied
from us the doctrines of the Word
of Wisdom, should set us an exam-
ple in the matter of abstaining from
intoxicating liquors, tea. coffee and
tobacco, shall we who have received
these laws from the Almighty, long
before our advent friends adopted
them, submit to being outdone in the
matter? If the doctrine of tithing
is adopted by other churches, shame
upon us, who have received the
word of God upon this matter, and
know it to be divine, if we shall
allow them to outdo us. We shall
have to live the Law of Enoch be-
fore we get into the celestial king-
dom of God. You know, the
Prophet Joseph stated that the law
of tithing was a school master to
bring us to live that higher law. I
am sorry that many of the Latter-
day Saints have not come up to the
requirements of the school master.
How shall we attain salvation ex-
cept we can be honest It is just as
necessary that a man shall be abso-
lutely honest as it is that he shall be
baptized, to obtain the celestial king-
dom of God.

My brethren and sisters, we are
here reaping the reward of our
former labors, and we are going

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

hereafter to reap the consequences
of our lives and works here. We
know, from the doctrines that we
have received, that men and women
have existed before coming into this
life, for countless ages, and that we
have been developing certain qual-
ities, and the reason we are separ-
ated into great classes, as the Negro
race and the other races on the
earth, is not a matter of caprice.
God did not take three beautiful
children yesterday morning, and say
to one, You go to the Negro wo-
man, and to another one, You go to
that Chinese mother, and to another,
You go down to that beautiful
Christian home. In my opinion,
there were classes and races, and
separation into different groups and
conditions before we came to this
world, and all are getting what they
are entitled to receive here. But
tin's is as far as we will travel to-
gether, for after this life, some will
get a celestial glory, and some a
terrestrial glory, and some a telestial,
and we will no longer journey in a
great class, or in a great company,
made up of all classes. I believe
that, while there will be classes in
the spheres to which we will belong,
we shall be grouped on separate
planets. If we comply with all re-
quirements we will be prepared to
go into the highest places for fur-
ther advancement, and that is
celestial glory, and it is gained by
obedience to celestial law. The
celestial abode will be upon this
redeemed earth, for God has de-
clared that it will fulfill the purpose
for which He has created it, and
it will no longer need to have the
light of the sun by day nor moon
and stars by night, but will have
power to emit its own light. Tt shall
be the home of those who overcome,
and who have kept the law. and

who have measured up to all the
requirements.

Thank God, there is a chance for
those who struggle and do the best
they can ; we come up and offer
ourselves as candidates for admit-
tance, and are found wanting, in a
few things, there is a chance to
become perfect. I tell you, we will
have to examine ourselves, and we
will be examined, and see if we are
fit, and many will be turned back
again and again until they do be-
come perfect in all that God has re-
quired. Some of us may fail en-
tirely, and will lift up our eyes in
sorrow, in the terrestrial or telestial
w orld, beholding the celestial world
and not able to enter it. Where
will these be? I think, perhaps on
Jupiter, or some other planet, when
this glorious orb shall shine as a
resplendent sun. It may be that
they will look up and say, Yes, I
was born in that place ; it was my
privilege to stay there, but I have
lost it. We will know then the full
meaning of those words :

"Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these, It might have
•been."

"I might have been there, and I
am not !" O, my brethren and sis-
ters, let us struggle that we may at-
tain the celestial glory. But, we
cannot get there by lip service. It
is a life's business, and then a con-
tinuation of effort, and a continu-
ation of struggle. But, O, it is
worth it. It is worth ten thousand
times more than has been required ;
and we would never cease our ef-
fort, if* we once had the taste of
that joy that belongs to those who
come into the presence of God. I
am willing to give my all of means,
heart, mind, and sacrifice to attain
it.

ELDER RICHARD W . YOUNG.

We teach the doctrine that "as
God is man may become." Not that
all men will become what He is, but
may become; how may we? By
obedience to these requirements.
While men will grow in the telestial
and terrestrial kingdoms, they never
can attain the perfection, felicity,
and development of those who en-
joy the celestial glory. If we get
into that glorious place, we have got
to walk in the light as He is in the
light. And after all we have done,
it will still be by the grace of God
that we enter, and we will then cry
unto Him, and blessed are we, if
His answer is, "Thou hast been
faithful over a few things, I will
make thee ruler over many." If He
will only name my poor name, and
say. "Of me thou hast not been
ashamed, come into the joy of thy
Lord," I shall have my heart satis-
fied, and feel repaid ten thousand
times for all God has asked me to
do.

God give us the strength to be
more faithful six months from to-
day than we are now, and to ac-
complish those things that He has
required. Amen.

ELDER RICHARD W. YOUNG.

(President of Ensign Stake.)

My brethren and sisters, I should
esteem myself and yourselves, my
audience, very happy indeed if I
might be able to address you under
the impulse of that same power and
spirit, and intelligence that so far
has controlled and dominated this
meeting. It is always a great pleas-
ure to me, and no doubt to you and
the Latter-day Saints as a whole,, to
have the privilege of attending these
our annual and semi-annual confer-
ences of the Church. In these great

assemblies are we permitted to listen
to the testimonies and receive the
benefit of the instructions, and to be
roused by the enthusiasm of the
brethren who so ably, and by ap-
pointment, preside over the destinies
of this the Church of God. And not
only is this privilege accorded us ;
but by reason of the fact that we
come together in great numbers,
fired with the same desires, enter-
taining the same belief, we receive a
renewed enthusiasm and power,
spirit and determination with refer-
ence to the gospel and our participa-
tion in the labors pertaining there-
unto.

It is always a great pleasure to us,
(I undertake to say behind the back
of President Smith that which I
would not say before his face) — it is
always a great pleasure to us Latter-
day Saints to have the privilege of
listening to our matchless leader.
We are great admirers, we who
know President Smith, of his splen-
did intellect. We have sat many
times under the potent influence of
his oratory, — potent, in my humble
judgment, by reason of his sincerity,
by reason of his knowledge, by rea-
son of his uncompromising faith, by
reason of his mastery of the English
language, by reason of his versa-
tility of thought and idea. We have
all listened time and again with the
most unspeakable pleasure and the
most immeasurable advantage and
benefit to his sermons. This is one
of the great privileges accorded us
in attending these conferences. Not
least among the privileges that we
have on these occasions is listening
to the powerful testimonies of the
brethren who preside in the missions
of the Church. They are filled with
enthusiasm. Their knowledge of
the Gospel has been kept bright by
exercise. Their armor is not rusty.

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

We all learn from them and from
the power and influence that accom-
panies their speaking" of the great
advantage that there is and would
be to us to labor constantly in the
work of God. If we would have that
spirit which they enjoy, the spirit
which we had when we labored as
missionaries in the field, it is only
necessary that we, like them, should
devote our whole time and attention
to the Gospel. Of course this is not
possible to the great majority of us.
But still we may conclude that we
would receive a great accession of
faith and of power by increasing our
attention, and by multiplying our
labors in the great cause of truth
and righteousness.

It is my design to address you
only for a very few minutes. Time
would not permit that I should speak
longer. I find my text in the words,
or the idea at least (I cannot recall
the precise words) of President
Smith in his opening address this
morning. The Latter-day Saints,
he said, are a charitable people, filled
with the fie si re to benefit and to save
the world, and not to do the world
injury. That is truly a characteristic
of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. We could not claim that this
is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, if it
were not a gospel filled with love
and characterized by charity. If
ours were a doctrine of hatred, if
ours were a doctrine inculcating the
spirit of persecution, then we would
not be walking in tne footsteps of
our great and illustrious Exemplar,
the Son of Man. We thank God
that the history of the Church, the
history of the Latter-day Saints, is
not marred by any sentiment or by
any act of oppression. Thank God
that throughout the history of the
Latter-day Saints, there has been
evidenced a love of mankind, a de-

sire to bless and to benefit and to
save, rather than a disposition to
oppress and to constrain those who
are not of our faith. Oppression
would be entirely inconsistent with
our views respecting God, our rela-
tion to God and our relations to each
other. We could not believe as we
do, that in the beginning we existed
with God ; that we are in very fact
the children of God ; that we are
literally brothers and sisters ; that
we will be saved, all of us, according
to our faith and to our works. We
could not believe, as has been point-
ed out, that those of us who might
fall by the wayside, or falter in this
world, will have an opportunity in
the next world of accepting the
truth, and of advancing on to salva-
tion. We could not believe that
every soul that has been born into
the world may become eventually,
through endeavor and the things ac-
complished, divine in his power and
attributes, — I say we could not be-
lieve all these glorious and humane
truths, and then persecute and de-
spitefully use our fellow creatures in
this world. It would be absolutely
inconsistent in us to oppress those
who fail to believe as we believe.
They have within them, as we have,
not only a divine origin but the.
spark of divine potentialities.

Thank God, we do not share the
conception that has marked the ages
of the past, and to a large extent
reaches down to the present day,
notwithstanding the evolution of re-
ligious belief in the past 100 years,
that a large part of these sons and
daughters of God have been fore-
ordained to eternal destruction and
damnation. I can well understand
why those who entertain such per-
verted ideas of religion, who assert
that we are foreordained, do what
we may, to encounter the condemna-

ELDER JOSEPH E. SMITH, JR.

tion of God and to suffer irretriev-
ably throughout eternity, would be
inclined to judge us without charity
or consideration. It would seem to
be quite natural for such believers
to exclaim: "Inasmuch as God has
foreordained the condemnation of
this people, well then let them be
damned." I say, thank God that
such charity destroying views and
delusive doctrines have no part in
the faith of the Latter-day Saints.
Looking upon all mankind, those
not of our faith as well as those that
have come within the fold, as being
of the same fatherhood, as brothers
and sisters, with the prospect of sal-
vation ahead of them, we would be
sadly illogical if we were not filled
with love and with charity, and a
desire to help.

And so, throughout the history of
the Latter-day Saints, we have not
been the persecutors ; but rather the
persecuted. We have not been the
oppressors ; we have been the op-
pressed. We have not been the
libellers and the slanderers of our
fellow men ; we have suffered from
those offenses. As it was in New
York, so it was in Kirtland, — we
were the persecuted. When we went
into Missouri, where thousands of
our members, owners of the soil,
were dispossessed of their property,
it was the same ; and so when we
were driven out of Nauvoo without
offense upon our part. In this state,
you may search the statutes from
the time the state of Deseret was
organized, before the creation of the
Territory, and you will search in
vain for one statute that ever dis-
criminated in the least degree
ag'ainst those who were not of the
faith of the Latter-day Saints. We
who have lived in this state have
seen men who have slandered the
leaders of this people, who have said

and printed of them the most de-
spicable things, who have accused
them of unchastity, of dishonesty
and of all of the crimes in the cata-
logue, we have seen those men live
in peace in our midst and walk these
streets absolutely without harm or
molestation. And you know who
have come from the west and the
north, and from the east and the
south, wherever our people have
ever lived, that those who have
charged these things against us and
have done all manner of things to
destroy us, you know that we have
treated them charitably, that we
have not sought to return evil for
evil, but rather, following the ex-
ample of Christ, that we have sought
to return good for evil. I say I
thank God that we are a charitable
people. I thank God that we soon
forget the offenses of people against
us. We have elevated into the high-
est political positions in this state
men who in other days have been
among the most uncompromising of
our opponents. In the charity of
our hearts, we have forgotten all
that they have done in the past.
Thank God that we do not desire to
injure others, but rather to bless
them.

Now may God help us so to live
that as a community and as individ-
uals we may grow in grace and in
the things of God, and be finally not
only saved but exalted in His pres-
ence ; which I ask in the name of
Jesus Christ. Amen.

ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH, JR.

Ashamed that Utah is not yet a prohi-
bition State — Church authorities advo-
cate temperance, and desire prohibi-
tion.

The time is spent. It is not my
purpose to detain you ; but I desire

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

to say, in conclusion of these ser-
vices," that I endorse the remarks
that have been made here by our
brethren, and trust that they will
find an abiding place in the hearts
of those assembled here. And I
wish to say to Brother John W.
Hart, that while I am very much
chagrined, humiliated and ashamed
of the condition that prevails in the
State of Utah, not because the peo-
ple so willed it, I am proud to know
that the State of Idaho and the State
of Colorado and the State of Ari-
zona, and the States of Washington
and Oregon, in this Rocky Moun-
tain region and the Pacific Coast
have set an example that is worth}'
to be followed. And just one more
word. The remark has been made
that whispering is being indulged
in to some extent by some of the
people to the effect, that the author-
ities of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints do not want
prohibition, and I think I am in a
position to say, that the authorities
of the Church, the Presidency, and
the Council of the Twelve, stand for
temperance, and they do want such
prohibition. Those who declare to
the contrary, when they come to
you, tell them that they speak that
which is not true. And I think I
know what I am talking about.

I do not wish to make any more
remarks because the time is spent.

A selection, entitled, "A Perfect
Day,"' was sung by a male chorus.

The Choir sang the anthem,
''Grant us Peace," Ada Russell and
Manasseh Smith rendering the
duet. '

Elder W. D. Kuhre pronounced
the benediction.

OUTDOOR MEETING.

A meeting was held in front of
the Bureau of Information, at 2
p. m. Elder George F. Richards
presided, and the 17th Ward choir,
conducted by James H. Neilson, fur-
nished the music.

The Choir and congregation sang
the hymn : "How firm a founda-
tion," etc.

The opening prayer was offered
by Elder Benjamin Goddard.

The Choir sang the hymn, "Jesus,
I my cross have taken," Bessie S.
Rex rendered the solo part.

ELDER GEORGE F. RICHARDS.

Faith of Saints manifest by very large
attendance at Conference — Vital im-
portance of religion — Compliance with
Gospel ordinances repugnant to the
worldly — All the truth of all religions
embraced in "Mormonism" — God's
mercy and justice evidenced in plan of
salvation for the dead.

My dear brethren, sisters, and
friends, — we regret exceedingly that
we have not a building sufficiently
large to house all of the people who
•have come up to this Temple Block
today to worship the Lord, and that
so many have to stand during our
service. I do believe, though, if we
will try and concentrate our minds
upon the things of God and His
kingdom, having a desire to worship
Him in spirit and in truth, that we
will be able to stand the fatigue ;
and, through our faith, receive from
the Lord that which will encourage
and comfort us, and build us up in
our faith.

The large Tabernacle is filled to
overflowing ; perhaps ten thousand
people are assembled there. The
Assembly Hall is filled to overflow-
ing ; perhaps between two and three

ELDER GEORGE F. RICHARDS.

thousand people there, and, as you
can see, a large concourse of people
here. It all reflects credit upon the
Latter-day Saints, and interest on
their part in the work of the Lord.
Those who had the privilege of at-
tending the opening session of' our
conference this morning, held in the
large Tabernacle, and heard what
President' Joseph F. Smith had to
impart by way of instruction, and
report of conditions, will surely have
no doubt in their minds as to the de-
velopment of this great work, its
growth and progress in the earth.

I have great joy and satisfaction,
my brethren and sisters, in my re-
ligion, my membership in this the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints, having the assurance
that this work is the work of God,
the power of God unto happiness
and joy in this life, salvation and
eternal life in the world to come.
The principles and ordinances of the
Gospel, which we have embraced as
Latter-day Saints, are amply sus-
tained by the scriptures. Those who
have made an investigation, un-
biased and thorough, will be con-
vinced of this fact.

There is a great satisfaction in be-
ing right. There is great disap-
pointment in having been wrong
upon any question ; and the more
important the question, the greater
the satisfaction or the disappoint-
ment, as the case may be. There is,
my friends, no question of greater
moment to the children of men than
religion, the plan which God has in-
stituted for the salvation of His chil-
dren. I am thoroughly convinced
that the time will come when all the
problems of religion will be unrav-
eled, and when that day comes,
great will be the comfort of those
who have been right, and great in-
deed will be the discomfiture of

those who have been wrong upon
this important question.

When God placed man upon the
earth and shut him out from His
presence, and required him to live
by faith, He did not leave him with-
out evidences of the existence, the
power, and the love of God. Those
evidences are so many, and so potent
that those who> reject God and His
existence are excluded from those
who will receive salvation in His
kingdom. "He that cometh to God
must believe that He is" (Heb.
11:6).

There is a class of people in the
world, and they are very numerous,
who are willing to accept God ac-
cording to their own conception of
Him, His existence, and of the im-
mortality of the soul of man, who
are not willing to accept of certain
principles and ordinances of the
Gospel necessary for their salvation,
such as repentance from sin, the ne-
cessity for it as a condition of salva-
tion, baptism by immersion in water
for the remission of sins, the laying
on of hands for the gift of the Holy
Ghost — these and other ordinances,
and the necessity for their being ad-
ministered by one whose authority
God recognizes. When the time
comes when all things will be under-
stood, if it shall prove true as the
scriptures teach and as we believe,
that these principles and ordinances,
as well as faith in God the Eternal
Father, and in His Son, Jesus
Christ, are necessary to salvation,
how much better off will we be who
have accepted these great truths
than those who have rejected them ;
and if it were possible to be other-
wise than true, would we not still
be as well off as they, and if true we
would be infinitely better off, we
would have the satisfaction of hav-

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

ing been right upon this great ques-
tion.

At any rate, we, as Latter-day
Saints are on the sure side, as we
have all that others accept of truth
and many more truths, principles,
and ordinances than they have. In-
deed, this work which we have es-
poused, commonly known as "Mor-
monism," embraces all truth and all
good. There is no truth or good
that is not included in our religion,
and there is nothing but truth and
good included in it ; and these facts
will be known to the world of man-
kind in time, if not at the present.

If it shall prove true, my friends,
as the scriptures teach and as we be-
lieve, that the Gospel is the plan
which the Lord instituted from the
foundation of the world, by which
men can be saved in His kingdom
and presence, and there is no other
plan, and that it is the plan by which
all men are to be judged, and that
justice demands that it be taught to
the dead as well as to the living, and
that the ordinances which are neces-
sary for the living are also neces-
sary for the dead, what a satisfac-
tion it will be when these things are
known generally to those who have
accepted of them. On the other
hand, what a great disappointment
it will be to those who have rejected,
and how much better off we will be
who have built temples and main-
tained them at such cost, who have
procured at great cost and effort the
genealogies of our dead, and have
gone into the temples of the Lord
and performed these ordinances for
them ! I say, what a satisfaction it
will be to us, and what a disappoint-
ment it will be to those who have
rejected these principles.

If it shall prove true, as we be-
lieve, and as the scriptures plainly
teach, that a worthy man and woman

joined together as husband and wife,
under solemn covenant for time and
for all eternity, that union solemn-
ized in the Temple of the Lord as He
has directed, by the authority which
he has delegated to men, and
those relationships maintained and
recognized in the life beyond,
and that they shall have eter-
nal increase in the kingdom of
God, — and that all other unions will
not be so recognized, — what a satis-
faction it will be to those who have
accepted this divine truth, this great
hope, and have yielded obedience un-
to it, and have been true and faithful
in the keeping of their covenants !
On the other hand, what a great dis-
appointment it will be to those who
have rejected these scriptural and
divine truths !

My brethren, sisters, and friends,
we find that the Latter-day Saints
are on the safe side of this great
question from any angle that we
may view it. Is it then to be won-
dered that when men come among
us, and women too, proselyting, that
they do not convert the Latter-day
Saints to their faith, their creeds and
denominations ? Is it a wonder that
our missionaries who have been in
the field by thousands, yes hundreds
of thousands, at different times,
have not been converted in the world
by men who have been schooled for
the ministry? Is it a wonder that
hundreds of thousands of men and
women in the world, honest and con-
scientious, have yielded obedience
unto these principles, forsaking all
that their former faith, or creeds,
had to offer to them? Or is it a
wonder that there are today, as there
are, thousands of men and women
who have come among us, not for
religion's sake, many of whom, by
investigation of these truths, have
become converted, convinced, and

ELDER GERMAN E. ELLSWORTH.

have turned away from their former
faith, and adopted the true faith, the
Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ? I
say it is no wonder. The promise is
that the truth shall be understood by
the true individual, he whose heart
is true before God, if he will seek
with honest heart and purpose to
know the truth, shall find it. "Seek
and ye shall find." .By yielding obe-
dience unto the commandments and
the requirements of the Gospel, fol-
lowing the dictates of his conscience,
he may obtain eternal life, and
through obedience and faithfulness,
he may know while yet in life, that
his course is approved of the Lord,
and that it will bring to him a re-
ward of eternal life.

I bear you my testimony, as a wit-
ness for the Lord this day, that T do
know that these are the truths of
God, that this Gospel is indeed the
power of God unto salvation, and
exaltation, unto all who will obey
faithfully its precepts, and there is
no other plan instituted by the Gods
for the salvation of the children of
men ; in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.

The choir sang the hymn, "True
to the faith."

ELDER GERMAN E. ELLSWORTH

(President of Northern States Mission.)

My brethren and sisters, I rejoice
in having the privilege of mingling
with you in this General Conference
of the Church. I enjoyed, beyond
measure, the instructions and the
spirit of our morning session, and
the words of President Smith
wherein he said that the members
of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints are at peace with
themselves, and there was no spirit
of contention one with another

within the Church. We have no
power over the world except by the
power of love, and we have no right
to operate in any other way than
in the spirit of love and kindness,
the spirit of long suffering, and of
gentleness toward our fellow men,
for that is the Spirit of the Re-
deemer, our Lord and Master.

I was touched with his counsel,
too, and I reflected on what we find
recorded concerning the counsels
of Adam, when before he left this
earth, he called his sons and grand-
sons, and all the generations that
lived in his day, around him and
gave them information concerning
the things that he knew of God his
Father. The knowledge that Adam
possessed concerning his Father was
handed down to his sons, his grand-
sons, and great-grand-sons, and
possibly many other generations.
Those who lived in the days of
Adam were acquainted with their
fore-fathers, and possibly lived in
the presence of many generations,
and a knowledge of God was un-
derstood by them, and many of them
kept the commandments of the
Lord.

From time to time, during the
days of the prophets of old, the Lord
revealed Himself unto His chil-
dren, and His attributes and His
loving kindness were known among
the children of men. On one oc-
casion, when He was about to de-
stroy the cities of the plains, we are
told that one of the prophets
pleaded with Him not to do so, ask-
ing for the privilege of going and
gathering out those who were
honest, saying if he could find fifty
righteous, would He spare the cities,
and later if He would spare the
cities even if he found but ten right-
eous. And the Lord said His
mercy would be extended toward

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

them providing he could find these
few righteous. In the days of Noah
the Lord's patience and long-suf-
fering toward the wicked lasted
one hundred and twenty years, even
after He gave the revelation to
Noah to build an ark. The knowl-
edge of our Heavenly Father was
handed down by the prophets of the
Lord from generation to generation
until the coming of His Son, Jesus,
into the earth, Jesus became a rev-
elation of His Father to the chil-
dren of- men, through all time there-
after. Divine mercy was shown by
the Almighty through His Son com-
ing and ministering among men in
the flesh, showing by His works
among them, by His gentleness,
kindness and long-suffering that the
Father loves His earthly children.

I rejoice in the spirit that was
proclaimed this morning is possessed
by the Latter-day Saints ; that their
mission in the earth is one of peace,
and the proclamation of peace even
with the olive branch. All men must
hear the Gospel of peace, and be
judged thereby; not only hear the
sound, but have in their hearts a
knowledge of God, our Father, and
comprehend His love toward the
children of men. Latter-day Saints
believe that very few men in the
earth can commit the unpardonable
sin, because they do not have knowl-
edge enough concerning God. The
sin for which there is no forgive-
ness is the sin against light and
knowledge. Men and women
throughout the world, tens of thou-
sands who now take sides against
the Latter-day Saints, do so because
they have no knowledge concerning
that which has been revealed to us
from the heavens. If they knew as
we know, concerning the revelations
of God our Father, they might be
just as valiant for the truth, and

just as zealous in proclaiming it as
the Latter-day Saints themselves
are.

I rejoice to be associated with the
young men and young women of
Zion, your sons and daughters, who
have been sent into the world with
the olive branch of peace, to make
friends with the world, to win their
hearts in every way that is right,
that thereby we may teach them
the great things that our Father has
revealed in this day and time. After
the crucifixion of the Savior and the
putting to death of the prophets of
the Lord, and the true knowledge
of God having departed from the
earth, He has been merciful in these
the last days in restoring anew the
Gospel of Jesus ; not only restoring
the Gospel, but revealing His own
character, and the character of His
Son to the. children of men. All the
knowledge given to Adam, Abra-
ham, Moses and the prophets of old,
has been renewed in this day,
through the coming of the Father
and of the Son. It has been given
to the Latter-day Saints to pro-
claim to the world that God lives,
that Jesus Christ is His Son, and
that the love of God shall yet cover
the earth as the waters cover the
mighty deep. The knowledge of God
shall spread upon the earth until
every man who is seeking the truth
may have the privilege of hearing
and obeying it, working out salva-
tion for themselves, and for their
fathers and mothers who have gone
before, and transmitting that knowl-
edge to their posterity.

I rejoice, my brethren and sisters,
in the gathering of the Latter-day
Saints, in these semi-annual con-
ferences, and the quarterly confer-
ences, and ward conferences. I be-
lieve the day will speedily come
when there will be some other feat-

ELDER GERMANE. ELLSWORTH.

ures connected with the Latter-day
Saints gathering together, that used
to be among the Saints of old. We
make records of our dead ancestors,
and transmit them to our posterity ;
and I believe we will incorporate
into our associations the spirit that
was in the hearts of the prophets of
old, and record the stories of our
fathers, grandfathers and great-
grand-fathers for the benefit of our
children, that they may transmit it
to the generations that follow. As I
have already stated, Adam trans-
mitted the knowledge of God to his
posterity, and taught them all things
concerning the purposes of God. In
like manner, I believe we should
teach our children the history of our
parents and grandparents, and all
relatives in whose presence we have
lived ; and also teach them to trans-
mit the same to their children, that
the knowledge of our fathers may
go to our descendants by word of
mouth as well as by record. The
Latter-day Saints have received a
revelation from God, in this day,
which is in harmony with the reve-
lations that were given to Adam and
the prophets of old, that God is our
Father, that Jesus Christ is His Son,
the only begotten of the Father in
the flesh.

To the Latter-day Saints has been
given an understanding of the
knowledge concerning God that was
imparted to Adam. We are living
in the dispensation in which this
knowledge has again been revealed ;
and I believe that we should trans-
mit this important information to
our children. God has been merci-
ful and kind to us. It is a wonder-
ful thing to have sounded in our
ears, by the very men who stood in
the presence of God the Father and
His Son Jesus Christ, that we are
His children, that God is in very

deed our Heavenly Father, and
Jesus is our Elder Brother. The
world does not believe this, and sci-
entific men, men of great worldly
learning, have spent their lives in
trying to prove some other way to
account for the existence of man in
the earth.

I am glad, my brethren and sis-
ters, that I know my father was a
good man, and my grandfather like-
wise. I am acquainted with some
of their attributes and virtues, and
some of the things they tried to do
in the world. I know something
also concerning my ancestors be-
yond my grandfather, and what
good things they tried to attain in
life. That information ought to be
transmitted, I think, to my children.
A record of all the virtues of our
forefathers should be transmitted to
the children of men who now live
and will live hereafter in the earth,
that the good influence thereof
might be passed on until the time
when Jesus shall come to reign
among His children here upon the
earth, and dwell with the men and
women who have worked for the
building up of the kingdom of God.
A doctrine that has been revealed
in this day is that works should ac-
company the faith of the Latter-day
Saints ; not preaching, only, but
building houses of worship, and
temples : gathering genealogies, and
histories. Seek and find all that we
can concerning those who have gone
before, and transmit all that is of
value to our children, that they may
do the work that our Heavenly
Father has declared should be done
in this day.

I rejoice in the spiritual growth
of the young men and young women
who have been sent to the Northern
States Mission. I rejoice when a
testimonv of the Lord comes to them

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

in defending the faith, and greater
love for the work of God comes into
their hearts, and that the doctrine
of peace, preached this morning,
takes possession of them. If I ask
them concerning the city where they
labor, they can tell you there are
many honest-hearted people in it,
good men and good women, and
they do not wish to be taken away
from these cities, at least they do
not want the judgment of the Lord
to come upon them : they would
plead with the Lord for the privilege
that the city be saved. They desire
to gather out the honest in heart,
and teach them that God our
Father, in this day has revealed
again concerning His character and
the character of His Son, and has
restored the Gospel with lall the
power that has ever been given to
men in the earth for the winning
of the souls of men, and for teach-
ing men who they are, and what
they are in the world for, and why
they have been Iplaced upon the
earth in this day and time.

It is a glorious thing, my brethren
and sisters, to have a knowledge in
your heart that God lives, that Jesus
is the Christ, and that our Father
has been merciful to us in this day
in restoring the plan whereby we
might be saved in His kingdom. I
know this Gospel is true. I know
that Joseph Smith was a prophet of
God. I know that Joseph F. Smith
is a prophet of God, and that he has
influence over the hearts of men and
women to lift them up and make
them better in this life ; and their
righteous lives gives them a better
chance of salvation in the life to
come. I am only one of hundreds
of voting men who have been
touched by the lives of the men who
stand at the head of this Church, in
whose hearts dwells the love of God

and the love of their fellow, men.
That influence is not confined either
to the President of the Church, and
the Twelve Apostles, but is pos-
sessed also by Stake Presidents and
Bishops, and is in the hearts of all
the men and women who have a
testimony of God, and are striving
to keep His commandments.

May the God of heaven help us
to defend the faith, to magnify
the name of God through all our
days, is my prayer in the name of
Jesus. Amen.

ELDER JOSEPH E. ROBINSON.

(President of California Mission.)

"Thy dead men shall live ; to-
gether with my dead body shall they
arise. Awake and sing, ye that
dwell in dust, for thy clew is as the
dew of herbs, and the earth shall
cast out the dead," so said Isaiah to
ancient Israel. Today (Easter Sun-
day), throughout all Christendom,
people who believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ are giving evidence, by wor-
ship and by offerings and gifts, that
they believe the words of Isaiah. It
was not always so, and so far as
that is concerned, it is but true in a
limited sense today, for of the 350,-
000.000 of so-called Christians,
against 1.500,000,000 of people in
the world, there are many of the
Christians who do not accept as a
fact the teachings of the Bible that
Christ did arise, and that the dead
shall come again from the tomb as
foretold by Isaiah and by the proph-
ets who followed after him.

As well said by Elder Richards,
anyone who has studied the provi-
dences of God from time imme-
morial must be struck with the evi-
dent love, mercy, charity and provi-
dent kindness that lie has exercised

ELDER JOSEPH E. ROBINSON.

toward His children, for though
Adam fell and brought upon himself
and his children endless sleep in the
grave, God suffered men not to die,
until they had been sufficiently in-
structed in the plan of life and sal-
vation, to know that they might live
again. An angel was sent who in-
structed Adam not only in the prin-
ciple of faith in God and repentance
from wrong doing, but in the ordi-
nance of baptism, and took him and
laid him beneath the watery ele-
ment, that he too should be born
anew from the grave of waters and
thus evidence faith in Christ, typi-
fied by the Lamb, that he was in-
structed to offer as a sacrifice to
teach all his children in a concrete
manner the fact that Christ, the
Lamb of God, in the meridian of
time should be offered up as a sac-
rifice that men should not sleep
eternally in the dust. So Adam was
baptized, and he taught these prin-
ciples of saving grace unto his chil-
dren and his children's children for
nearly a thousand years of mortal
reckoning.

Not only did God manifest Him-
self to Adam and the ancient patri-
archs— to Noah, who builded the
ark, and to his sons, and their im-
mediate descendants, but when
Israel had become a nation of serfs
in bondage in Egypt, He spoke unto
them by the mouth of Aaron, as
well as by that of Moses ; and not
only to Israel did He make His call
to repentance, but unto the Egyp-
tians as well. For mark you, not
one of the wondrous miracles per-
formed in Egypt but what was a
direct rebuke to the Egyptian gods.

The insignia of power in Egypt
was the sacred snake, two entwined
which made the crown of the
Pharaohs of Upper and Lower
Egypt. The rod of Aaron, cast upon

the ground in the symbol of that
power, overcame the snake of the
Egyptian, and in that little thing,
showed the power of the Hebrew
God to be greater than that of the
magicians of the Egyptian king.

The River Nile, the Father of
Waters, the healer of the sick, wor-
shiped by the Egyptians as the
bringer of seed time and harvest —
for in flood time it spread its waters
out over the great valley of the Nile,
making it the granary of the ancient
world — this river became flooded
with the red waters from the moun-
tains, until it became like as blood
and was a thing of disgust unto the
people. It nauseated where once it
had pleased, and sickened, they
turned away from., that which once
they had bowed down to in devo-
tion, unto which they had offered
virgins as sacrifice — and felt again
that the wrath of the Hebrew God
made manifest His omnipotence
over theirs of the Nile.

Its inundation brought with it,
doubtless, the plague of frogs. The
frog, in Egypt was a sacred crea-
ture, and he who inadvertently
should tread upon one and kill it,
was himself to suffer the penalty of
death. Now this great plague came
upon the land, as foretold by Moses,
until it crowded into their homes,
into their bedrooms, and even into
the kneading troughs. Sickened
again, and in disgust, the Egyptian
turned away from the laothsome
creature, and was robbed again of a
god that he had worshiped.

So with the plague of lice and
flies — for one of their most sacred
goddesses was supposed to keep
these things out of the land of Egypt
— but they crept in upon them, into
sanctuaries of their temples, even
the holy of holies, and the priestly
robes of the initiated priesthood,

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

were all defiled by these loathsome
things, until again they were dis-
gusted with their gods and felt how
impotent they were when arrayed
against the power of Israel's God ;
and so on, from step to step, the
hail, the thunders and the lightnings
which are so infrequent in that land,
so much so that it is said "in Egypt
it never rains," came upon them and
destroyed their crops. Murrain
came upon the beasts of the field
and destroyed doubtless the great
bull Amnion that they worshiped in
the temple of Heliopolis.

The great god Ra, the sun. that
painted the flowers and ripened the
harvest, that • secured them in
warmth, was put out in the midst of
darkness, that men could feel, and
made a night of three days in which
there could be no light made, and so
this god in turn, was made to bow
to the power of Israel's God.

By this time, the Egyptians were
ready to let Israel go, but Pharaoh
hardened his heart again. His pos-
sessions had not diminished so
much. His servants had kept from
him the dread things that had come
to the common people ; and so he
still held out for the power of the
Egyptian god against that of Israel.
Then the warning was sent unto
him— for lie had refused longer to
look upon the face of Moses — that
the destroying angel should pass
through the land, and that the first-
born of every creature, both of man
and beast should be destroyed ex-
cept where they exercised faith in
the blood of the Lamb, and typified
it as it had been in Eden's garden
by the sacrifice that was to be made,
and their door-posts and the lintels
thereof were to be sprinkled with
blond of the sacrificial lamb. That
night, we understand, a scourge
passed over Egypt, and none es-

caped except those who were faith-
ful and did as ordered by Moses.
In the house of Pharaoh was lifted
the voice of mourning, for his first-
born was stricken down with the
dread malady, and so their great
god Osiris, the last and final one,
the arbiter of their fates, the one
who gave life to the world, was put
to naught and shamed by the power
of the Hebrew God.

And so by these miracles testi-
mony was given to ancient Egypt,
that they too might repent and not
be cut off until they had been suffi-
ciently instructed in the way of
truth. And when Moses, having
divided the waters of the Red Sea,
and carried his people through vic-
toriously to the nether side thereof,
to the plains of Arabia, when he
sought out his father-in-law Jethro,
and announced unto him all that
God had done in Egypt, the old
priest, who had given to Moses his
priesthood and instructed him ii1 the
ways of righteousness, lifted up his
voice and his eyes unto the heavens,
and said, "Now I know that the
Lord is greater than all — for in the
thing wherein they dealt proudly —
He was above them."

And so the Lord, by His benefi-
cence and love hath taught to all
men as they would receive light and
instruction, the fact of His redemp-
tion— the truths of His Gospel.

It was a hard thing to understand
that men might live again — they
who were laid away in their tomb —
that their bodies, revivified, renewed
and immortalized, should coine
forth to eternal life, to immortality
and everlasting youth : but Isaiah
knew it, and declared it unto Israel
as I have quoted : and the major
prophets after him bear that same
testimony.

The Lamb of God Himself de-

ELDERJOSEPH E. ROBINSON.

clared when he was upon the earth,
"I am the resurrection and the life:
he who believeth on me, though he
were dead, yet shall he live," and
said, "If I be lifted up, I shall draw
all men unto me ;" and declared that
not only should the living hear His
voice, but they who were dead and
in their graves should hear the voice
of the Son of God and live."

The testimony of the ancient
fathers of the Church, as well as the
Scripture, bear witness that Christ,
before He arose from the grave and
broke the. shackles of death, went
into the prison house and preached
to the spirits which were in prison —
and for this reason, says Peter, "that
they might be judged according to
men in the flesh" — by the same law,
by the same ordinances, by the same
constraints, the same reasoning that
men are judged today: faith in God,
repentance from sin, baptism by im-
mersion, and the laying on of hands
for the gift of the Holy Ghost — for
these were the principles of the Gos-
pel that Christ and His apostles
taught to men, by which He founded
the Church, setting at the head first
Apostles, Prophets, etc. — and being
"judged according to men in the
flesh," as you and I shall be judged,
being in the spirit world they should
"live according to God in the spirit."

We have been told, and we have
read, of the miraculous resurrection
of the Christ, of His recovery from,
death, and the bringing out of His
body from the tomb, that He walked
and talked with men, ate with them,
and taught them for a season of sev-
eral weeks relative to His plan and
their labors for bringing to pass the
salvation of the souls of men. I
know that hard-headed men are
loath to accept the fact that we can
live again ; and yet, if this be not
true, we stand as a contradiction of

all of nature's creation. We are a
paradox, yea, more than a paradox,
an anomaly ; for God has set in our
hearts alone, so far as we can deter-
mine, the longing, the desire, the
yearning after immortality and eter-
nal life. We understand that there
is nothing meaningless, nothing vain
or waste in the emotions of living
creatures : that they shall meet their
complement here or hereafter.

We build, we suffer, and we sacri-
fice for things that within and of
themselves of necessity, because of
mortality, can never be attained unto
in mortal life. Life were vain, in
fact, "if in this life only we have
hope," for the deepest things that
stir our souls, that which appeals to
us most, has to do with the future,
with the eternal association with one
another, in the family relationship,
in the presence of God and His
Christ, who was the first fruit of
them who slept, and in whose image
and likeness, John tells us, we shall
be when He comes again, for the
grave and death and hell shall give
up the dead in them, and they shall
come forth in the same type as the
Master did.

Men believed in spirits anciently,
and they believe in them today, and
when the Master stood before Hirs
disciples, "they were affrighted,"
saith the scriptures, for they thought
it was His Spirit, but He called unto
them and said, "Handle me, and see
that a spirit hath not flesh and bones
as you see me have." And still they
were afraid, and so He asked if they
had anything to eat, and they gave
to Him an honeycomb and fish, and
He ate in their presence. A week
later, on the Lord's day, when He
appeared unto them again, and the
doubtful one, Thomas, who had
heard the testimony of his brethren
and of the women who had seen the

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

Christ and conversed with Him, did
not believe that testimony, but said,
"ve have seen a spirit." and con-
tended with them, that he would not
believe unless he could thrust his
hand into His side and feel the
prints of the nails in the hands and
feet of the Master, and would not
believe that He had recovered His
body from the dead — the Master ap-
peared before him and said, "Reach
hither thy hand and thrust it into
my side and be not faithless but be-
lieving," and Thomas, convinced in
his soul, cried out, "My Lord, and
my God ;" and the Master upbraided
him gently because he had needed
such a testimony to believe, because
he would not accept the word of his
brethren nor their testimony. He
said, "Thomas, because thou hast
seen me, thou hast believed : blessed
are they who have not seen and yet
have believed."

And that is the touch-stone of
virtue with the Christian today.
Does he walk by faith? Is he will-
ing to accept the words of the wit-
nesses of the Christ and the words
of the Master, and not desire to han-
dle and see for himself as did
Thomas? For I want to tell you
that when a man has to do a thing,
there is no virtue in it. But when
he chooses to. when he exercises
faith and confidence, then there is
virtue and righteousness in it.

T said if there be no immortality,
we stand as a contradiction to the
rules of nature, an anomaly in her
handiwork, for when we look forth
upon her creations, they all answer
the end thereof in this life, except
man. We need not deal with the
vegetable field, but when we come
to animate things, to the birds of the
air and the fishes of the deep, and
the beasts and the creeping things of
the field — they have no thought of

the morrow, no care and no heed.
Divine providence cares for them,
brings a complement of their lives
to them. Some will tell us it is in-
tuition that guides them so uner-
ringly in the pursuit of that which
prolongs their lives and enables
them to perpetuate their species in
the earth, and others would have us
believe it is habit ; but those who
walk by faith see behind it all a
divine will that directs all of the en-
ergies of nature and all of her crea-
tures, to the end that His name shall
be honored and glorified, and that
His purposes relative to His creat-
ures shall be fulfilled, and that thev
aside from man. and man too, shall
come to a fullness of joy.

But with the creatures beneath
men. they have not their own will,
they answer the ends of the divine
will. But when it comes to us. God
hath given us our free agency to
choose and to act for self. We
gloried in this before the world?
were. It is one of the greatest bene-
factions that we have in this life,
because by it and with it men can
develop the divine which is within
them and come into a full fruition
of godliness.

T said that beasts have no thought
of the morrow, and no heed, except
as instinct or divine love may guide
them to provide for their morrow or
for themselves : but when it comes
to man, he has the capability of wor-
ship, of paying homage and devo-
tion that the beast has not ; and this
of itself, according to the rules of
nature, demands a complement in a
being to worship, in someone to pay
homage to and a creature that
arouses our devotion, and to whom
we can prove ourselves devoted ;
and so this, of itself, makes God a
necessity, for men to come into full
complement of his God-given at-

ELDER JOSEPH E. ROBINSON.

tributes and powers. Man alone
has the power of conceiving of a
heaven, of a hereafter, and it is with
all men, from the most illustrious
in the halls of learning, to the pagan
of the darkest continent and to the
Indian of our own loved country in
his most remote and ignorant state.
They dream — these latter — of their
"happy hunting grounds," of a place
where they shall be provided for,
where gaunt famine and sickness
are unknown, with a larder never
empty, and where men dwell as
brothers and friends.

The Christian dreams of a place
where he shall worship God and
look upon His face, where there
shall be anthems of hallelujahs sung
forever. And the Latter-day Saint
looks for the place where he shall
build, as he began to build in this
life for an eternal home, for the
family relationship, for father and
for mother, for wife and husband,
for parents and children, to associate
together until they shall come into a
fullness of all that their fond hearts
have desired and their minds have
conceived of ; and it shall be an end-
less home of eternal progression in
the presence of the Christ and with
the Father, who is God over all. The
capabilities which man has are di-
vine, and they only lack time and
opportunity for expression in com-
plete development to become like the
Father, whose children we are.

With Him and in His presence, in
the eons of years yet to come, we
shall come into a fulness of divinity,
and build yet other mansions for our
Father, thus adding to His glory as
we add to the glory and perpetuity
of our own homes and families.

None but men can conceive of
this, and when he has once con-
ceived of it, and then is told that
this probation is the end of life, and

this is the end of progression, when
death shall claim us and shall still
the voice and shut down the eyes
and make pulseless the hand — how
vain is life, and how vain the im-
aginations and sacrifices of man !
But how exalting the other thought !
What an incentive to correct living
and to proper thinking for men to
believe that they can strike hands
with the Infinite. One can become
like Him and have and hold the
family relationship forever and ever
without end of years, that God loved
them from before the beginning
until after the ending of this life,
and that this bringeth a fullness of
joy — to have the body and the spirit
inseparably connected, the body by
which we receive so many of our
impressions in this life, by which we
have manifested ourselves to our
fellows, by which we have learned
the sweets of life as well as the bit-
ter things, by which we have
achieved success, in which we have
been chastened by adversity and sor-
row, through which we have learned
what it is to be cared for and to' be
loved, that we in turn might be com-
passionate and loving to others, and
that the full development of our
capabilities and talents must come
and be with and through this vehicle
that our Father hath clothed our
spirits with, and that with this body
we shall come into not only that
which I have intimated, but untold,
which the mind of man here, finite,
cannot conceive of !

Would not life then be vain in
conceiving these things and having
these powers of conception, these be-
liefs, these longings and yearnings,
and have them go unanswered?
After we have sacrificed for them,
loved them, and loved those who
have labored for them, would not
life be vain? Would we not be a

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

contradiction to the law of nature if
there be nothing of life save this lit-
tle span of existence, of mortality?
And so today, in the light of modern
revelation, in the light of what the
scientist has unfolded, though as yet
he has not demonstrated it in his
laboratory — yet so nearly that our
greatest thinkers today, — Stead and
Lodge, who are dead, and Currie
and Crooks, Myers and Funk and
others alive, have announced the
fact that there is an immortal > soul,
and that it is not impossible even
scientifically, to demonstrate suffi-
ciently to prove to .the seeking mind
and the faithful heart that Christ
arose from the dead ; — so shall the
bodies of men again live and be
"energized" and be made immortal.

I thank them for this testimony,
because there are some who will not
accept in faith, as I have said, nor
as did Thomas, anything that is not
demonstrated coldly before them ;
but in the light of these things, and
of modern revelation, I say again,
as Isaiah said, unto you, and as this
Sabbath day, the Easter Sunday,
should bear witness to all men, —
"Thy dead men shall live, together
with my dead body shall they arise.
Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the
dust, for thy dew is as the dew of
herbs, and thy earth shall cast out
the dead." Amen.

A quartet, consisting of James H.
Neilson, Hyrum J. Christiansen,
Harold Langton and Aner Hansen
sang the hymn, "O, give me back
my Prophet Dear."

ELDER J. GOLDEN KIMBALL.

(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
To speak to people in the open is
new to me, but there is something
about it I like, and that is. if you
don't care for what I say, you can
return home! (Laughter.)

I am trying to take the hopeful,
optimistic view of things. I am
a man among men who are looking
into the future. I have hope of the
future, and I am trying not tc be
afraid of it. I am burning all my
bridges behind me, so that I cannot
go backward, I hope that my course
will be onward and that I will look
upward, that I will look out and for-
ward, not backward. I am trying to
be optimistic, and I am having quite
a time of it. I cannot work myself
up quite as well as the man whn
fell from a twenty-story building,
and as he passed a window of the
tenth story, a drummer in the room,
said to his wife : "Gee, that fel-
low is optimistic." His wife said,
"What do you mean ?" "Why, as the
fellow passed the window, he said :
'I'm all right yet.' " (Laughter.)

Now, brethren, I read in Scripture,
"He that is the greatest, shall be a
servant." Some think that means
he that is greatest in the kingdom of
God must be a valet, or a butler, or
a hostler. I do not believe in that
doctrine, at all ; T think it means
that he that is greatest in the king-
dom of God must give service, be
willing to sacrifice. He that is great-
est must be a Joseph Smith, a Brig-
ham Young — and I am not afraid to
say, a Heber C. Kimball.

What I want to talk about are real
things, not something that I do not
know anything about. When I get
through, I will have told you some-
thing I know, so that you can go
home and think about it. I am go-
ing to talk about things that have
happened since I was born, not
something that happened eighteen
hundred years ago, or that will hap-
pen hundreds of years in the future.

When President Brigham Young
came, with the pioneers, he was sick,
and prostrated in the wagon in

ELDER J. GOLDEN KIM R J LI

which he was riding", he rose and
saw this valley, and said : ''This is
the place: drive on!" He did not
preach for an hour over it. When
he came upon the ground where this
Temple now stands, he dropped his
cane, and said : "Here we will build
a Temple to our God." They got
bus)-, they prayed about it, they
fasted, and then they built it. It
took them 40 years. When I think
about that building, every stone in it
is a sermon to me. It tells of suf-
fering, it tells of sacrifice, it preach-
es— every rock in it, preaches a dis-
course. When it was dedicated, it
seemed to me that it was the great-
est sermon that has ever been
preached since the Sermon on the
Mount. When I go up on the Capi-
tol Hill, and see that great build-
ing, a great pile of granite, etc., that
will cost two million and a half ;
there is not a stone in it that whis-
pers ! It is speechless. It does not
tell of suffering or of faith. Any
man who will come to the Bureau
of Information and listen to the
guides will learn that every window,
every steeple, everything about the
Temple speaks of the things of God,
and gives evidence of the faith of
the people who built it.

When I see this monument here,
(indicating the Sea-Gull Monument
standing on the Temple Grounds),
I notice that many of you men pass
it by as if it told no story. When
I think of that monument, it tells me
of suffering, it tells me of a people
that were about to be destroyed by
famine : it tells me of crickets that
were destroying and eating up
everything. The people prayed,
they fasted, and they got busy, every
man, woman, and child killed
crickets. But they could not kill
them all, so God came in and helped
them. He sent the gulls, and they ate

the crickets, and the people were
saved.

That Tabernacle preaches the
same kind of sermon. I helped haul
sand for it, when I was a boy.
Every Saturday we had to haul
sand, and that is how I learned
something about these things. You
see this wall surrounding this block
— do you think we built it to keep
the Indians out? I want to tell you
we built it to give employment ; and
when people were out of work, and
hungry, we found something for
them to do. If we could not find
anything else to do, we built walls.
That is what you want to do now —
give service — give work.

When Christ gathered the people
together, they were hungry, and
then their Master fed them, and
after they were filled He gave them
the Bread of Life, fed them, and
then told them the truth. If people
are out of employment, you find
something for them to do, and then
bless them.

Think of what this people have
done ; not what they have preached,
but what they have accomplished,
and what they have suffered. I
desire to say to you Seventies, get
ready, and after a while we will sing
the hymn, "Hark, Listen to the
Trumpeters ! They Sound for
Volunteers." Now, we will not say
to you what the Savior said to the
young man, ''Sell whatsoever thou
hast and give to the poor, and take
up the cross and follow the Master
and I will give you the greatest of
all gifts that God has ever given His
children, which is Eternal Life,"
all we ask you to do is to give what-
soever you have to your family, and
pick up your valise and go on a
mission. Do you want eternal life?
Almost everybody here would be
awfully keen for it, if it did not cost

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

anything. We would accept the
whole world if it did not cost any-
thing ; I would be willing to take
half of it myself. (Laughter.)

The greatest of all gifts is "Eter-
nal Life," but we have to pay for
it, just like our fathers and mothers
did. We will have to pay for it
with service, and with sacrifice ; as
there can be no blessings obtained
without sacrifice. I know what is the
matter. We think more of automo-
biles, we think more of oriental
rugs, and hundred-dollar gowns
than we do of salvation. T know
you have faith, many of you, and
now we want to begin to get hold
with both hands and make this fight
for the Lord. I prophesy that hun-
dreds of you, thousands of you, will
go into the world on missions.

Now, my brethren every man who
holds the holy Melchisedek Priest-
hood, and is a Special Witness for
God, should get ready for a mission.
Begin to pay your debts, and train
your family, and get them so that
they will be glad to have you go.
Stop writing letters to the First
Council making a lot of excuses,
that your wife is sick, that you are
in debt, or that you are sick. What
is faith for? Who is the Great
Physician? Why don't I get well?
Because I haven't faith enough. I

am trying to hurry up and get well
so that I can go.

You must look into the future ;
this world belongs to the visionary
men. Brigham Young had a vision.
He said that this city would reach
to the point of the mountain south,
and I am a witness that it will come
true. People did not believe it.
Joseph Smith had a vision, a revela-
tion that we would "come to the
Rocky Mountains and build great
cities, and become a mighty people.''
We have started to fulfill that proph-
ecy.

Now, brethren and sisters, we
have Prophets, we have Apostles,
we have the gifts and the blessings.
You Seventies must go out and heal
the sick : you must go out and com-
fort the desolate, and you must go
to the nations of the world, after this
war is over — it cannot last forever.
You Seventies will go — this proph-
ecy will come true, otherwise we
will make High Priests of you and
ordain other Seventies who will go.
The Lord bless you. Amen.

The Choir sang the anthem,
"Awake my Soul," Geneva Harris
and II. J. Christiansen sang the
duet.

Benediction was pronounced by
Elder Win. J. Robinson.

SECOND DAY.

Conference was resumed, in the
Tabernacle, at 10 a. m., Monday
April 5th ; President Joseph F.
Smith presiding.

The congregation sang the hymn :

Our God, we raise to Thee
Thanks for Thy blessings free

We here enjoy;
In this far western land,
A true and chosen band,
Led hither by Thy hand,

We sing for joy.

Prayer was offered by Elder C.
F. Middleton.

The congregation sang the hymn :

Come, come, ye Saints
No toil nor labor fear,

But with joy wend your way;
Though hard to you
This journey may appear,

Grace shall be as your day.

ELDER HEBER J. GRANT.

Prevalence of Gospel testimony among
the Saints. — Joy accompanying tes-
timony bearing. — Righteous living
essential to salvation. — Apostasy of
men highly favored of God.

I rejoice exceedingly in having
this another opportunity of meeting
in general conference. I have en-
joyed very much indeed all that
has been said thus far during our
conference, and I humbly pray that
the same good spirit which has
characterized the remarks that have
been made by those, who have pre-
ceded me, may be given me. I do
desire most earnestly that what I
say may encourage and bless the
Latter-day Saints, and that it may
be in harmony with what has been

said by those who have preceded
me.

I rejoice in the gospel of Jesus
Christ. I rejoice in my association
with the Latter-day Saints, and the
privileges which have come to me in
mingling with the people, and in
learning of their feelings, of their
devotion, of their love of God and
for this work in which we are en-
gaged. I rejoice in the abiding tes-
timony of the divinity of the mis-
sion of our Lord and Master, Jesus
Christ, which is to be found among
the people. The Latter-day Saints
know that Jesus was in very deed
the Redeemer of the world. They
have a positive knowledge that
Joseph Smith was chosen of God,
and that he was the instrument in
the hands of the Lord in establish-
ing again on the earth the plan of
life and salvation. They know that
he was a true prophet of God ; they
have no doubt regarding the divin-
ity of his mission. The men who
stand at the head of the various
stakes of Zion and the women who
preside over the Relief Societies,
the principal auxiliary organization
among our sisters — as I mingle
among them, and also with men and
women who preside over the Sab-
bath Schools in the stakes, and the
Mutual Improvement Associations,
Religion Classes and Primaries, I
find a devotion and love of God and
of this work among all of them
which is a constant inspiration to
me. I rejoice in the rich outpour-
ings of the Spirit of the Lord in our
quarterly conferences. I rejoice in
the blessings that come to me and to

(JEN ERAL CONFERENCE.

others, as we mingle among the peo-
ple, in being helped and strength-
ened in teaching to them the Gospel
of Christ.

My heart has been filled with grat-
itude, especially during the past six
months, for what seemed to me to
be an increased portion of the Spirit
of the Lord, as I mingled among
the people in discharge of the du-
ties that devolved upon me. I know
of nothing that brings greater joy
to the human heart than laboring at
home or abroad for the salvation of
the souls of men. I know of noth-
ing which gives us a greater love
of all that is good, than teaching
this Gospel of Jesus Christ. To me,
one of the greatest testimonies of
the divinity of the mission of our
Savior is the joy and happiness that
we all experience whenever we tes-
tify that He was in very deed the
Son of God and the Redeemer of
the world. I know of nothing that
brings greater joy, except testifying
regarding the divinity of the mission
of the Savior than to testify re-
garding the divinity of the mission
of the Prophet Joseph Smith.

The three years that I presided
over the European mission were in
very deed the most pleasurable, the
most happy, the most satisfactory
years of all my life. When instruct-
ing the Elders I told them whenever
they seemed to be closed up in their
spirits, whenever they seemed to
lack ideas to express to the people,
if they would only testify that they
knew that Jesus was the Redeemer,
and then testify regarding the divine
mission of the Prophet Joseph
Smith, that the Lord would open
their mouths and bless them in
speaking to the pepole. The testi-
mony of all the Elders with whom
I came in contact who had done this
was that the Lord did, in very deed,

bless them whenever they testified
of the divinity of the mission of our
Savior, or when they testified re-
garding the divine mission of the
Prophet Joseph Smith. Never at
other times have I been as abund-
antly blessed in preaching this Gos-
pel as when I have been talking up-
on these two themes. I rejoice in
the individual testimony of the Lat-
ter-day Saints regarding the divinity
of this work in which we are en-
gaged. I rejoice in the joy and the
happiness that it brings to each and
every one of us when we are doing
our duty, and laboring for the ad-
vancement of the Gospel, at home
and abroad.

I rejoice in the peace that cometh
to every man — a peace that passeth
understanding and my ability to ex-
press it — when he is serving God.
I wish that I possessed the power to
inspire the Latter-day Saints to
greater diligence, to greater faith-
fulness, to a stronger determination
to serve God and to keep His com-
mandments. There is but one path
of safety to the Latter-day Saints,
and that is the path of duty. It is
not a testimony, it is not marvelous
manifestations, it is not knowing
that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is
true, that it is the plan of salvation,
it is not actually knowing that the
Savior is the Redeemer, and that
Joseph Smith was His prophet, that
will save you and me, but it is the
keeping of the commandments of
God, the living the life of a Latter-
day Saint.

I have been profoundly impressed
upon many occasions, as I have
studied the history of the early men
in this Church, with the fact that
one-half of the first quorum of
Apostles fell by the wayside ; that
all of the three witnesses to the
Book of Mormon, who saw the

ELDER HEBER J. GRANT

angel, who heard the voice of God,
who heard the Lord testify to them
that this work had been translated
by the gift and power of God, that
the Lord Himself, by His voice from
heaven, had told these men to bear
witness of this fact — should also
fall by the wayside. The same with
a majority of the eight witnesses.
Oliver Cowdery, who heard the
Savior's voice, and beheld a heav-
enly messenger before the Church
was organized, gave a description,
which is recorded in the Pearl of
Great Price, of his ordination, in
connection with the Prophet, to the
Aaronic Priesthood, stating it was
beyond the language of man to paint
the jov and the grandeur that sur-
rounded them upon that occasion.
He also had the Apostles of the
Lord Jesus Christ, who lived upon
the earth in the days of our Savior,
lay their hands upon his head and
ordain him to the Melchizedek, or
the Higher Priesthood. In the
Kirtland Temple, with the Prophet
Joseph Smith, he saw the Savior,
also Moses, Elias, and Elijah. He
had given to him, in connection with
the Prophet, every key and every
authority of all the dispensations of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, from
the earliest time down to the pres-
ent, and yet by failing to do his duty
by failing to keep the command-
ments of God, this man lost his
standing in the Church of Christ.
True, he repented and came back.
The same is true of Martin Harris.
I remember hearing Martin Harris
in this building testify to the truth
of his testimony regarding the di-
vinity of the Book of Mormon. I
also rejoice that, although he never
returned to the Church, David
Whitmer never varied in bearing
this testimony; the very fact
that this man, although he bore

this testimony to the day of his
death, had no joy, no satisfaction
in it, shows that the Spirit giveth
life, and the letter killeth. I have
met some who have visited David
Whitmer, and he told them that it
was one of the burdens of his life to
have people come there day after
day to whom he had to testify re-
garding his knowledge of the Book
of Mormon, and the visit of the
angel to him.

There is not a Latter-day Saint
living who is keeping the command-
ments of the Lord, who would not
regard it as one of the greatest joys
imaginable if he could testify that
he had heard the voice of God, and
that the Lord had given him a com-
mandment ; and that, in fulfilment
of the requirement of the Lord, he
had recorded in this testimony : "we
bear witness of these things." How
we all. would rejoice to be able to
bear such a testimony ; provided, we
had the Spirit of God ; provided we
were so living that it was not a
dead letter with us. David Whit-
mer stopped growing, notwith-
standing the manifestations that he
had received, when he failed to keep
the commandments of God, when he
failed to recognize the proper au-
thority in the Church of Christ.

May the Lord bless each and all
of us ; and, as we grow in years
and increase in understanding, may
we grow in the light and knowledge
of the gospel of Jesus Christ, in a
determination to serve Him, and
keep His commandments ; and may
all of us who hold places of respon-
sibility in the Church so order our
lives that they may be an inspiration
to the people, because of our faith-
fulness, our diligence, our loyalty
to this gospel, and our support of
our file leaders, is my prayer, and I

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

ask it in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Sister Romania Hyde played a
selection on the violin.

ELDER RUGDER CLAWSON.

Nebuchadnezzar's dream, and Daniel's
interpretation — The great image a
represenation of empires and king-
doms— Fall of earthlv kingdoms, and
establishment of God's Kingdom —
Marvelous facts demonstrated by
Joseph Smith's glorious vision —
Perfect organization of the Church
— Army of the Priesthood fighting
sin.

My brethren and sisters, the violin
solo to which we have just listened
rendered by Romania Hyde, was
beautiful indeed, and speaks well for
home talent.

The words of counsel, testimony
and instruction which have already
been spoken at this conference are
very precious to us. I think that we
ought to be thankful that we have
our file leaders with us today, the
Presidency of the Church, and the
president of the Twelve Apostles,
and that .these men are strong- in
limb and body, and powerful in ut-
terance. Surely we ought to give
heed to their counsels.

I trust, my brethren and sisters,
that during the few moments T oc-
cupy I may have an interest in your
faith and prayers, that T shall be
able to say something that will be
appropriate to this great gathering
of Latter-day Saints, and that shall
be comforting, encouraging and in-
structive.

Tn ancient times a very remark-
able thing happened, remarkable be-
cause it had a bearing and an in-
fluence upon the destiny of the
world, to the latest generation. You

will perhaps remember that upon
one occasion Nebuchadnezzar, king
of Babylon, called into his presence
Daniel, a young Hebrew, one of the
chosen race, and demanded of this
young man two things which the
magicians of Babylon, the wise men,
had not been able to do. One was
that the young man should bring to
the mind of the king a dream that
he had dreamed, and then that he
should give the interpretation there-
of. Daniel replied and said that of
himself he could not do this, but that
the God of Heaven could do it. and
would intervene and give the inter-
pretation of the dream. So Daniel
told the great king that in his dream
he had seen a mighty image, and
that this image represented the
kingdoms of the world which should
follow. Now, brethren and sisters,
it is a fact that subsequent history
has shown the exact fulfillment of
Daniel's prophetic statement, so far
as the world has progressed.

It seems that Babylon, under
Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar,
represented the head of gold, .and
that the great kingdom of the Medes
and Persians, under Cyrus and
Darius, represented the arms and
shoulders of the image ; and follow-
ing this was the powerful kingdom
of Macedonia. Daniel did not name
the kingdoms ; perhaps he didn't
know what their names would be,
but he described them ; and the great
kingdom of Macedonia, under Alex-
ander the Great and others, were
represented by the belly and thighs
of the image, which were of brass.
Then came the mighty empire of
Rome under the Caesars, which
had in it the power and strength of
iron, to break in pieces, to trample
down and destroy. The Roman
Empire, which later was split in
twain, was represented by the legs

ELDER RUDGER CLAW SON.

of the image. The comparison, you
will see, is very correct and beauti-
ful. After the decline and fall of
the Roman Empire, the kingdom
was divided into a number of small-
er kingdoms, and these were repre-
sented by the feet and toes of the
image, which were composed of iron
and miry clay ; that is to say, these
kingdoms would have in them the
strength of iron and the weakness of
clay, and would not therefore cleave
together. We know that they did
not cleave together, that these king-
doms, the present monarchies of
Europe, are divided and are at this
moment engaged in a great world
conflict.

But Daniel said, and this is the
particular thing I want to call your
attention to, that "in the days of
these kings shall the God of heaven
set up a kingdom which shall never
be destroyed, and the kingdom shall
not be left to other people, but it
shall break in pieces and consume
these kingdoms, and it shall stand
forever. Forasmuch," he said, "as
thou sawest that the stone was cut
out of the mountain without hands,
and that it break in pieces the iron,
the brass, the clay, the silver and the
gold, the great God of heaven has
made known to the king things
which would come to pass hereafter,
and" he said — and I presume he said
it with strong emphasis, "the dream
is certain, and the interpretation
thereof is sure." Now, we claim
that this kingdom predicted by
Daniel has been set up. But a
stranger might ask, "Why, Mr.
Claw son, surely you do not maintain
that the kingdom referred to by
Daniel has been set up in this day
and age of the world?" Why, if
that be the case, didn't this event
attract world-wide attention? Did
it not create a sensation ?" No, it

did not. "How do you account for
that?" Well, I think the answer
would be that it was overlooked, be-
cause the Lord works in a very quiet
and logical way. He works through,
men, through mortal men, and some-
times it may not appear to the
natural eye that the Lord is doing it,
that His hand is in it. Sometimes
we can only discern these things
spiritually, by our faith, by our
spiritual sight. It was overlooked,
possibly, very much as the coming
of the Messiah was overlooked by
the Jews. They expected that He
would come with demonstrations of
great power, and of majesty and
might ; but instead of that He came
into the world in a very humble
manner. He was born in a manger,
and was known in His country as
the son of Joseph and Mary, Joseph
the carpenter. Therefore, the Jews
did not perceive that He was the
Savior. Thev rejected and crucified
Him.

So with reference to this great
latter-day kingdom. The stranger
might then ask, very consistently,
"If that be the case will you kindly
tell me how it was established?"
Well, it happened in this way. Many
years ago a boy by the name of
Joseph Smith, who was nearing his
fifteenth year — this was in 1820 —
was seriously agitated over religious
matters, due to a great revival in
his neighborhood. He had a spirit-
ual longing ; he was seeking for the
true church ; he had not been able
to find it. The contention was so
serious, and the difference of opin-
ion so great, that he could not de-
termine which of all the sects was
the true church, and so he followed
the advice of James, the Apostle,
who said, "If any man lack wisdom
let him ask of God. who giveth lib-
erally and upbraideth not, and it

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

shall be given him." This young
boy relied upon the word of the
Lord. He never had prayed
vocally, but he believed in the scrip-
tures. He believed what James
said, and thought he would venture.
So he went out into the woods to
pray, a mere stripling of a boy, and
had a very wonderful experience.
It can be told much better in his
own words than I could tell it. Re-
member, brethren and sisters, and
friends that these words, which were
written by Joseph Smith, the proph-
et, and this manifestation was given
to him at a very youthful period of
his life. He said :

"So in accordance with this, my de-
termination to ask of God, I retired to
the woods to make the attempt. It
was on the morning of a beautiful,
clear day, early in the spring of 1820.
It was the first time in my life that I
had made such an attempt, for amidst
all my anxieties I had never, as yet,
made the attempt to pray vocally.

"After I had retired to the place
where I had previously designed to
go, having looked around me, finding
myself alone, I kneeled down and
began to offer up the desires of my
heart to God. I had scarcely done so,
when immediately I was seized upon
by some power which entirely over-
came me, and had such an astonishing
influence over me as t o bind my
tongue, so that I could not speak.
Thick darkness gathered around me,
and it seemed to me for a time as if
I were doomed to sudden destruc-
tion.

"But, exerting all my powers to call
upon God to deliver me out of the
power of this enemy which had seized
upon me, and at the very moment
when I was ready to sink into despair
and abandon myself to destruction —
not to an imaginary ruin, but to the
power of some actual bein^ from the
unseen world, who had such marvel-
ous power as I had never before felt
in any being — just at this moment of
great alarm, I saw a pillar of light
exactly over my head, above the
brightness of the sun, which descended
gradually until it fell upon me.

"Tt no sooner appeared than I found

myself delivered from the enemy
which held me bound. When the light
rested upon me I saw two personages,
whose brightness and glory defy all
description, standing above me in the
air. One of them spake unto me, call-
ing me by name, and said, (pointing to
the other), 'This is My beloved Son,
hear Him!'

"My object in going to inquire of
the Lord was to know which of all the
sects was right, that I might know
which to join. No sonner, therefore,
did I get possession of myself, so as to
be able to speak, than I asked the
personages who stood above me in
the light, which of all the sects was
right, and which I should join.

"I was answered that I must join
none of them, for they were all
wrong; and the personage who ad-
dressed me said that all their creeds
were an abomination in His sight; that
those professors were all corrupt; that
they draw near to Me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from Me ; 'they
teach for doctrine the commandments
of men, having a form of godliness,
but they deny the power thereof.'"

This was a most remarkable man-
ifestation of God's goodness and
love to the boy Joseph. It seems
that the Father and Son manifested
themselves in person to him, proving
that they were beings of person-
age ; so that it would not be neces-
sary to go to the scriptures to prove
this fact, although it could be easily
proven from the scriptures. He saw
with his eyes and heard with his
ears, and the testimony he gives to
the world, and transmits to us, is
that God is a being of body, parts
and passions, in the form of man.
and that the Son is the express
image of the Father, but separate
and distinct from Him. What a
glorious revealment was this, what a
glorious new revelation to the world,
to confirm the old revelations con- •
tained in the scriptures.

Xow, the thing that I want to
stronglv emphasize is this, that al-
though Joseph Smith saw the Father
and the Son, and although he heard

ELDER RUDGER CLAW SON.

their voices, this did not give him
authority to act in their name, or to
establish the Church of God, for that
is exactly what he subsequently did.
But before he could move in the
direction of founding the Church of
God he must have divine authority.
That came to him later, as he testi-
fied, then, on the 15th day of May,
in 1829, the Angel, John the
Baptist appeared to him and Oliver
Cowdery, and laying his hands upon
their heads said: "Upon you, my
fellow servants, in the name of Mes-
siah, I confer the Aaronic Priest-
hood, which holds the keys of the
ministering of angels, and of the
gospel of repentance, and of baptism
by immersion for the remission of
sins, and this shall not again be
taken from the earth until the sons
of Levi do offer again an offering
to the Lord in righteousness."

Thus Joseph Smith received the
authority, and the keys of the
Aaronic Priesthood. Then a little
later Peter, James and John, who
held the Melchizedek, or High
Priesthood, appeared and laid their
hands upon his head ordaining him
to the apostleship. Thus he received
the power of the High Priesthood,
as previously he was clothed upon
with the power of the Lesser Priest-
hood. With this great and glorious
authority, he organized the Church
on the 6th day of April, 1830, with
six members.

That which followed has con-
firmed the truth of Joseph Smith's
testimony to the world, because in
the eighty-five years that have
passed away the Latter-day Saints
have grown to be a mighty people
in the Rocky Mountains; and,
moreover, they are thoroughly or-
ganized. Now, what do we have?
Why, we have sixty-seven stakes of
Zion. and between -seven hundred

and eight hundred wards. We have
Latter-day Saints, members of the
Church, numbering hundreds of
thousands, growing out of this very
small beginning. And what more
do we have? Why, we have a
President of the Church, a Prophet
of God, who stands in the same rela-
tion to the Church as Peter did in
his day. He holds the keys of the
kingdom of heaven upon the earth,
and, in connection with his coun-
selors, presides over the Church. We
have Twelve Apostles, we have a
presiding Patriarch of the Church,
Seven Presidents of the first council
of Seventy ; and a Presiding Bishop-
ric. These constitute the general
authorities of the Church. We have
also presidents of stakes, high coun-
cilors, bishops of wards and their
counselors, to preside locally in the
Church. And what further do we
have? Why, we have a great body
of Priesthood in the Church. There
are 11,450 high priests, 11,112
seventies, 27,382 elders, a total of
49,944 men who hold the Higdi
Priesthood of God. There are 8,830
priests, 10,607 teachers ; and 22,722
deacons, making 42,159 who hold
the Lesser, or the Aaronic Priest-
hood, making a total of 92,103 who
hold the Priesthood. These men
have been organized into quorums
and are being disciplined for war.
The weapon that has been put into
their hands is keen in cutting; it is
like a two-edged sword, to the divid-
ing asunder of both joints and mar-
row. This weapon is the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. In order that these
men may become more familiar with
the Gospel, courses of study are
prepared for them, but I want to telt
you, that these courses of study do
not completely fit men for the great
conflict. It is the Spirit of God, the-
Holy Ghost, that qualifies them, anr|

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

these studies are simply a guide to
help them along in the work.

Now, let me sa)^ that when the
shock of battle comes, men will not
be struck down and destroyed, but
they will be lifted up by this great
army of Priesthood, and will be con-
verted and rescued from sin and
wickedness. That is the warfare in
which we are engaged — to fight
spiritual darkness, to fight against
immorality, to fight against in-
temperance, to fight against dis-
honesty, evil-speaking and strife, to
fight against the conflict between
capital and labor. It is intended that
with this weapon they shall correct
every evil in the world, and bring
peace and happiness to our Father's
children, for our motto is. Peace on
earth and good will to men.

Now, brethren and sisters, and the
brethren particularly, remember the
mark of your high calling. May the
Lord bless you and help you to do
your duty, help yon to give proper
attention to the Priesthood, and
thereby avail yourselves of every
opportunity to prepare for the battle
of the great God. I humbly ask it
in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

ELDER REED SMOOT.

Essentiality of revelation from God to
man — Comprehension of our Arti-
cles of Faith — Strange declaration
of prosecuting attorney — Inspira-
tion is revelation — "Billy" Sunday's
"conversions" — Unreasonable criti-
cism defeats itself — True history
•demonstrates Joseph Smith's in-
spiration.

In the beautiful prayer that was
offered in the opening of this, the
eighty-fifth annual conference of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints, Brother McMurrin
asked that the revelation of the mind
and will of our Heavenly Father be

given to the First Presidency, and
that the spirit of inspiration might
be given to those who speak to the
people during this conference. The
prayer impressed me, as no doubt
it did others, and I was reminded of
the fact that there are few people in
all the world who believe that God
reveals Himself to man in this day.
No one who has received the gift of
the Holy Ghost, after baptism by
one holding the authority of the
Holy Priesthood, will fail to know
that God can reveal, and does reveal
His mind and will to the members
of His Church. It is ninety-five
years since God revealed Himself
to the boy, Joseph Smith, in the
way that has been called to your at-
tention this morning by Brother
Clawson, and scarcely could it be
told better than in the simple and
forceful words of the Prophet him-
self. This visitation of the Father
and the Son to Joseph Smith was
the opening of a new dispensation.
That wonderful passage in the
Epistle of James: "If any of you
lack wisdom, let him ask of God,
that giveth to all men liberally, and
upbraideth not : and it shall be given
him," was the passage in the Bible
that impelled the boy to action. It
was because of his faith, his confi-
dence that there was a God, that he
retired to the grove and pleaded
with the Father to know his will
concerning the churches organized
at that time in the world. From
that moment on, the heavens were
opened unto him, not sealed to the
children of God as was universally
preached, but on the contrary it was
evident that God had as much inter-
est in the people, and in the estab-
lishment of His Church in this the
dispensation of the fulness of times,
as He ever had in any dispensation
from the beginning of the world.

ELDER REED SMOOT.

Revelation, my brethren and sis-
ters, is a fundamental principle of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We
cannot deny it unless we deny
"Mormonism," so-called itself. If
Joseph Smith did not receive a rev-
elation from God, and many of
them, and if heavenly personages
did not appear to him and others,
"Mormonism" would have failed be-
fore this. I shall never, I hope, get
tired of testifying that God did ap-
pear to Joseph Smith, that He has
established His Church in this the
last dispensation, never more to be
thrown down or given to another
people. There will always be a dif-
ference in the spirit of the people
who believe in this great principle,
there will always be a difference in
their lives, as compared with those
people who do not believe it, and
who claim that there is no such
thing as God revealing Himself to
man. The ninth of our Articles of
Faith states that, "We believe all
that God has revealed, all that He
does now reveal, and we believe that
He will yet reveal many great and
important things pertaining to the
kingdom of God."

Very often I have given strangers
a card on which was printed the
thirteen Articles of Faith, and how
often have I had them say to me,
"There is nothing particularly strik-
ing in the articles ; the great body
of Christian people believe in the
principles that are announced in the
articles, with the exceptions of one,
perhaps," the one I have just
quoted to you. But I want to say
to you, my brethren and sisters, that
there are others of the Articles of
Faith that they do not believe in, or
at least do not comprehend or under-
stand their full meaning. The first
one is: "We believe in God, the
Eternal Father, and in His Son,

Jesus Christ, and in the Holy
Ghost." I take it for granted that
nearly every one in this gathering
today was present yesterday when
our belief in God, His Son Jesus
Christ and the Holy Ghost was so
plainly portrayed, and I believe with
all my heart and soul, the doctrines
taught by Brother Penrose. When
strangers have said, "We believe in
God the Eternal Father," I have
stated, "Yes, as far as you under-
stand Him; but our idea, our con-
ception of God, leads us to believe
He is entirely a different God from
the one in whom you believe, whom,
you say, is a god without body'
parts or passions." I am not going
to take the time of the brethren
and sisters, at this morning's service
to discuss this question, but I simply
say, with you, that the God whom
we worship has passed through all
the experience that we are now pass-
ing through. He is an exalted
being, a personality, and I predict
the time will come when, instead of
a handful of people believing in the
personality of God, the great bodv
of the people of the world will ac-
knowledge that fact.

Perhaps the question of revela-
tion can be stated in no plainer way,
conveying the sentiment of hun-
dreds of thousands of people of this
country, than was conveyed in the
statement of Mr. Taylor, who prose-
cuted what is known as "the Smoot
case," with a view of expelling me
from the Senate of the United
States. In his summing up of the
testimony and telling why I should
be expelled from that body, he made
this statement:

"Several hundred thousand sincere
men and women have believed and
now believe, as they believe in their
own. existence, that Joseph Smith, Jr
received revelations direct from God-'

9<)

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

and if any one ever believed that, we
must assume that Senator Smoot be-
believes it.

"Now, a senator of the United
States might believe anything else in
the world but that, and not be inel-
igible to a seat in the body of which
he belongs. He might believe in
polygamy, he might believe that
murder was commendable, he might
deny the propriety of a rule of life, of
all the ten commandments, he might
believe in the sacrifice of human life,
he might believe in no God or in a
thousand gods; he might be Jew or
Gentile, Mohammedan or Buddhist,
atheist or pantheist: he might believe
that the world began last year, and
would end next year: but to believe,
with the kind of conviction that Reed
Smoot possesses, that God speaks to
him, or may speak to him, is to admit,
by the inevitable logic of his convic-
tion, that there is a superior authority
with whom here and now he may con-
verse, and whose command he can no
more refuse to obey than he will him-
self not to think."

My brethren and sisters, I frankly
admit that T believe that God can
speak to His children in this day
and dispensation. Had I better put
it stronger, and say that I know that
He can? And so do you know it.
This is one of the great differences
between a man who belongs to the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints, who has received bap-
tism by immersion, received the gift
of the Holy Ghost, and received the
Priesthood, from those that never
have had those privileges and bless-
ings. If we judge from the Bible
we are perfectly safe in saying there
has never been a dispensation, from
Father Adam till the present, that
God in establishing it has not re-
vealed Himself to His representa-
tives, to men who have carried on
the work : never. And, as the last
dispensation has been established,
we are perfectly safe in saying none
has or will be established without

God revealing Himself to those
chosen to accomplish the same. I
rejoice in the fact that I have this
testimony. I rejoice in the fact that
I believe with all my soul the testi-
money of the Prophet, that God the
Father spoke to him.

Revelation is not enjoyed by the
members of the Church, only. The
Constitution of the United States
was revealed from God ; and I can-
not help but think if the people of
the world would study the source of
great discoveries made for the bet-
terment of the children of men, in
the sciences and in the arts, they
would at once admit there was some
power greater than man that had
brought them about. The wireless
telegraphy is a marvel and a won-
der ; as well as the telephone, by
which the human voice is now car-
ried from ocean to ocean. These in-
ventions did not come about through
man's wisdom alone. The develop-
ment of electricity and the transmis-
sion of thousands of horsepower
over a small copper wire, for hun-
dreds of miles away from where the
power is generated, have been made
possible through inspiration from
our Heavenly Father. We need not
be told, my brethren and sisters, that
the men who have made these great
discoveries did not receive inspira-
tion from a greater source than their
own brain. If a man places himself
in a position to receive revelation or
inspiration from God, seeks it dili-
gently and honestly, it is often
granted him, particularly if his heart
and soul are in attune with God's
purposes.

Yesterday we listened to some
most excellent sermons : and as
Brother Penrose was speaking I ex-
pressed the wish that such a sermon
could be heard by every person in
the world. I was reading last night

ELDER REED SMOOT.

a description of the revival meetings
that are being held by "Billy" Sun-
day in the larg'e eastern cities, and I
could not help but contrast the spirit
of this conference, the testimonies
that have been borne, and the unity
of the people, with the account given
of a typical meeting conducted by
that man. It may be, my brethren
and sisters, and I have no doubt it
is a fact, that something more than
the delivery of prepared speeches,
couched in words to tickle the ears
of the people, must be adopted to
bring about a testimony in the
hearts of the people that there is
something in Christian religion. The
ministers of the different denomina-
tions are beginning to recognize the
fact that some change must be made
in their services in order to create an
interest in religion. They unite in
inviting "Billy" Sunday to come to
their churches and stir up the peo-
ple, get them interested in the sub-
ject of religion with the hope that
they will become identified with one
or another of the organized
churches. But it is my belief that
no person converted in a moment of
excitement will ever stay converted
very long. A knowledge of God is
necessary to a living conversion, and
it comes by the still, small voice that
speaks to the soul, through the in-
spiration of God, and not by getting
men to sign pledges in a moment of
excitement.

There may be five or ten thousand
"converted" by one sermon of Mr.
Sunday, but how long will they re-
main converted? Most of them
about as long as it took to convert
them. I do not sav that he is not
doing some good. I believe there is
.some good accomplished by all
Christian churches. I do not think
it 'is necessarv for a man who
preaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ

to become an acrobat while deliver-
ing his message. I don't believe that
such actions as indulged in by Sun-
day have a tendency to make a man
think seriously of his God, and the
step that he is asked to take. It
would not impress me with the truth
of his message to have him jump
upon the velvet-covered stand with
a view of emphasizing some point in
his sermon. Rather would I be im-
pressed by a testimony such as that
igiven this morning by Brother
Grant. I know it is such that ap-
peals to men's hearts. I know they
will remember it longer. I also
know that an appeal only to the
emotions of men, and not to their
understanding, does not and cannot
effect a permanent conversion. An
inward monitor called the con-
science is possessed by every one.
No one, old or young, ever com-
mitted a wrong, at least the first
wrong, but that his conscience told
him it was a wrong, and conscience
acts as an inspiration to man as long
as he does not blunt it by repeated
violations of its promptings.

Men are trying hard to break
down the fact that God established
this Church by revelation through
Joseph Smith. The writings of the
enemies of the Church are intended
to create in the minds of neople a
distrust in the principle of revela-
tion, and thus prove that no such
occurrences as related by Toseph
Smith ever took place ; if their
efforts wer° successful, the Church
would cease to be a factor in the
affairs of the world. There is one
peculiar thing, and I have noticed
it not once but many times, that the
enemies of this people go bevond all
bounds of reason and truth in their
criticisms, so much so that anv hon-
est person knows, when reading
their attacks, that thev cannot be

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

true. Moderation in our enemies
would be far more harmful to us
than the extremes to which they go.
The Church and its people should
not be judged by the words of their
enemies, no more than the Church
was in the days of our Savior. It is
well to consider the statements of
the historian, as well as the testi-
monies of our friends — compare
them, study them, and they will
prove the wisdom, character and
mission of Joseph Smith the
Prophet.

In looking over some of the his-
tory written against the Prophet
Joseph Smith, I came across the
statement made by Professor Hux-
ley in his ''Agnosticism and Chris-
tianity." I do not believe it wise
for us to make as part of our ser-
mons statements derogatory to the
mission of Joseph Smith, or falsify-
ing the position of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
and I am not going to read what
Huxley records, other than the con-
clusion ; if any of you desire to read
all of his statement, untrue as it is,
you may do so. After stating what
he claims the Prophet to be, he says :
"He must have been a man of some
force of character, for a consider-
able number of disciples soon gath-
ered around him." Yes, they gath-
ered about him in increasing num-
bers as long as he lived. His mem-
ory is honored, and the Church
which he established, under the
guidance of God, is growing, not
only in numbers but in power in
many parts of the world. You have
all read what Josiah Quincy, of the
class of 1821, I believe, of Harvard
University, has said about this re-
markable man, and the probability
of the future position of this Church.
He certainly could not be called a
friend to "Mormonism." It cer-

tainly could not be claimed that he
was a defender of the Prophet
Joseph Smith, and yet it seems to
me when I read his statement, that
what he says will have to be ad-
mitted by all some time in the fu-
ture. I cannot help but believe that
he too was inspired. Time forbids
my reading it to you. Men who
lived with the Prophet, slept with
him, men who were willing to die
with him in defending the truth,
ought to know about his character
and his labors and his mission ; and
who could have expressed it better
than it was expressed in the auto-
biography of Parley P. Pratt, giving
an account of this wonderful man
and his mission upon the earth.
Again, let me ask you, my brethren
and sisters, to read what President
Young said of him, in the Journal
of Discourses, telling of his personal
knowledge of the man that God
chose to open this dispensation.

I could go on and multiply such
testimonies by the hundreds, but
time forbids. No matter how long
I live, I never shall forget the many
times that I heard my father testify
of his love and loyalty to that re-
markable man, Joseph Smith. He
believed in him and in his mission,
and loved the Gospel of Jesus Christ
as taught by the Latter-day Saints.
He was ready and willing, if it be-
came necessary, to sacrifice his life
for the cause, as have been thous-
ands of others. It is my testimony
to you this day that the world will
yet acknowledge that Joseph Smith
was one of the greatest of God's ser-
vants, that it was he who was or-
dained to establish God's Church in
this dispensation. All must admit
the revelation that was given before
the Church was organized, foretell-
ing that a marvelous work and a
wonder was about to come forth.

ELDER REED SMOOT.

has been fulfilled. Let the Prophet
Joseph be judged by the records.
Xo one can point to a doctrine re-
vealed to him, and through him to
the people, that is in conflict with
the teachings of any of the servants
of God in any dispensation of this
world.

I rejoice with the brethren who
have preceded me in bearing my
testimony that God lives, and that
Jesus the Christ is the actual Son of
God ; that this work is God's work,
and that He has His hand over it,
directing its affairs. Men may come
and men may go, men may be true
to the Church, and men may be false
to it. but it will continue until it has
fulfilled its mission in the world.
When that day comes there will be
no more wars, there will be a- com-
plete understanding between men,
there will be greater love in the
hearts of the children of men for
one another, and everything that has
been foretold by all the prophets of
God will come to pass, and that day
will come in God's own due time.
If we are not receiving revelations
from God today, it is not His fault,
it is the fault of ourselves. God's
work and His Church will grow and
increase just as fast as we. the mem-
bers of it, are capable of carrying
out the instructions of God.

May God's blessings attend us all,
and may His Holy Spirit be in the
habitations of the people ; and may
they pray to Him with the same con-
fidence and in the same spirit that
the boy Prophet prayed ninety-five
years ago. May we have as much
faith and confidence in God answer-
ing our prayers as he had ; and all
the storms from outside, all the op-
position that may come from any
source on earth, never can retard the
growth of the Church that God has
established. My brethren and sis-

ters, God bless you, I ask in the
name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The congregation sang the hymn :

Redeemer of Israel,

Our only delight,
On whom for a blessing we call
Our shadow by day,

And our pillar by night,
Our King, our Deliv'rer, our all!

Elder William C. Parkinson pro-
nounced the benediction.

Conference adjourned until 2
p. m.

AFTERNOON SESSION.

Conference was resumed at 2
p. m., President Joseph F. Smith
presiding.

The congregation sang the hymn :

Guide us, O Thou great lehovah,
Lead us to the promised land,

We are weak, but Thou art able —
Hold us with Thv powerful hand.

Elder Joseph R. Shepherd of-
fered the opening prayer.

The congregation sang the hymn :

How firm a foundation, ye Saints of
the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excel-
lent word!
What more can He say than to you He
hath said,
You who unto Jesus for refuge have
fled?

Elder Heber J. Grant read the an-
nual report of the Church Auditing
Committee, as follows :

auditor's report.

Salt Lake City, Utah,

April 6, 1915.
Presidents Joseph F. Smith, Anthon
H. Lund, Charles W. Penrose,
First Presidency of the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints.

Dear Brethren : Your Audit-
ing Committee begs leave to report

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

that we have carefully audited the
books and accounts for 1914 of the
Trustee-in -Trust and of the Presid-
ing Bishopric ; and have searchingiy
examined the reports made by the
various Stakes, Wards, Temples,
General Auxiliary Organizations
and all other institutions in which
the Church is interested.

From such audit and examination
we are pleased to be able to report
that the icceipts and disbursements
of all Church funds are not only
fully and accurately accounted for,
but evidence a most careful and de-
tailed consideration of the numer-
ous items which constantly demand
the attention of the presiding au-
thorities.

We feel especially gratified in
noting the large amounts of money,
which the liberality of the Saints
has enabled you to spend for char-
itable purposes, for the education of
our youth, and for the promotion of
God's work on earth, both in build-
ing temples and meetinghouses at
home, and in sustaining the vari-
ous missions abroad in the world.

Praying God to continue to bless
you in thus carrying on the work
of the Master, and in the wise dis-
charge of its weightv responsibil-
ities, we respectfully submit this re-
port, and remain.

Your brethren in the Gospel,

(Signed") W. W. Riter,
John C. Cutler,
Henry FT. Rolapp,
Joseph S. We£ls,
Heber Scowcrot,
Auditing Committee.

On motion, the foregoing was
accepted, and approved, by unani-
mous vote of the congregation.

ELDER GEORGE ALBERT SMITH

Faithfulness, peace, and comfort
among the Saints. — Danger in ex-
cessive pleasure-seeking. — Need for
the young to be carefully guarded. —
Profiting by experiences of former
peoples. — Modesty in apparel, and
patronage of home industries advo-
cated.

I sincerely trust that the few
moments I occupy the Lord will
bless me with strength to make you
hear, and with ideas that will be
fruitful of benefit to you, my dear
brethren and sisters.

My heart has been made glad dur-
ing this conference, at the out-pour-
ing of the Spirit of the Lord, and
I feel that it has been well for us to
be together. In the midst of the
turmoil that exists in the world to-
day, I have felt to praise my Maker
for the peace and quiet 'that reigns
in Israel ; for the blessings that
abound in this great land of Amer-
ica ; that our lot has been cast un-
der the folds of the Stars and
Stripes, and that our Heavenly
Father saw fit to plant the feet of
His people in this grand intermoun-
tain country. It is a source of satis-
faction and a testimony of the di-
vinity of this work that notwith-
standing the assaults of the adver-
sary, and the mobbings and drivings
of the people, they have kept the
faith and have evidenced, by right
living, their belief in God and their
knowledge that He lives. As long
as we are humble and keep the com-
mandments of the Lord, there need
be no anxiety as to the result. The
danger to us, as it has been to all
the peoples of God upon the earth,
is from forsaking humility, lacking
the charity that should abound in
the hearts of men, and turning to

ELDER GEORGE ALBERT SMITH.

selfishness and unrighteousness.
We have been wonderfully pros-
pered as a people, and in traveling
through the stakes of Zion I am
gratified to see so many living in
comfortable homes, and that the
men of our communities are provid-
ing the comforts and conveniences
of life for their families. I believe
this is pleasing to our Heavenly
Father.

Some times I wonder if we will
err, if it is possible that your family
and mine will make the mistake that
has been made by the sons and
daughters of God in the various
ages of the world, and forsake the
house of worship for the hot^e of
pleasure. How are we going to be
affected, as a people, by the general
tendency to go to extremes in seek-
ing amusement ? Pleasure-seeking
increases among us as the years go
by. I can remember as a child that
I felt I was favored if I could have
one excursion a year out to the
Lake, and another one to Calder's
Park. If I could go to one or two
matinees in a season I was well sat-
isfied. That left me plenty of time
to attend my Sabbath School, Mu-
tual Improvement Association, day
school, and the other institutions
provided for my edification and in-
struction.

There is a growing tendency in
this age to live much more rapidly.
Instead of thinking seriously of the
purposes of life, many of our young
people are devoted to light amuse-
ments. "What shall we do tomor-
row for fun?" "What shall we do
next day for pleasure?" Let's go
to the moving picture show to-
night." "Let's go to the dance to-
morrow night." This is the ten-
dency of their ambition ; and I am
wondering, my brethren and sisters,

if. as the guardians of the children
of the Latter-day Saints, we are as
prudent and careful as we should be
in safe-guarding, and in encourag-
ing them to engage in more import-
ant pursuits. Our children are the
most precious gift that our Father
bestows upon us. If we can guide
their feet in the path-way of salva-
tion, there will be joy eternal for
us and for them ; but if, by reason of
following after the fashions of the
•world, or as the prophet predicted,
it should happen in our clay that our
children should be lovers of pleasure
more than lovers of God, it will be
a sad time for us, because those
v\ ho pursue pleasure in this life to
excess are likely to forsake the ways
of the Lord. I am concerned for
the youth of Israel ; I feel that we
yll should be, and should assume the
duty of looking after the Lord's lit-
tle ones, teaching and safe-guarding
them as far as it is possible.

Some of our people are pattern-
ing after the follies of the world,
and are blinded to their danger until
it is too late. Of the strangers
who come to live in our midst, many
are good, faithful, honorable men
and women, then there is another
class, who are devoted entirely to
making money, and riotous living,
and everything else must take sec-
ond place. x\musement of every
kind, and temptation of every kind
is thereby placed within the reach of
our children, and the result may be
in some cases that, if we are not
careful, we will lose some of them.
It is your duty and mine to always
be exemplary in our conduct ; to
seek to do good to our fellow men,
to encourage, not only our own chil-
dren, but the children of our
neighbor to works of righteousness,
to honor the Sabbath Day and keep

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

it holy ; to honor father and mother
and observe the other command-
ments that onr Heavenly Father has
given to us from time to time. That
is our privilege — nay, that is our
duty, because the Lord has confer-
red upon us the priesthood, and has
given to us a knowledge that He
lives. Let us look back a few hun-
dred years and judge of the future
by the past. Let me read just a few
verses from the third chapter of
Isaiah, of what the prophet of God
foresaw among the people who
should live after him. He says :

"Moreover the Lord saith. Because
the daughters of Zion are haughty, and
walk with stretched forth necks and
wanton eyes, walking and mincing as
they go, and making a tinkling with
their feet;

"Therefore the Lord will smite with
a scab the crown of the head of the
daughters of Zion, and the Lord will
discover their secret parts.

"In that day the Lord will take away
the bravery of their tinkling orna-
ments about their feet, and their cauls,
and their round tires like the moon,

"The chains, and the bracelets, and
mufflers,

"The bonnets, and the ornaments of
the legs, and the headbands, and the
tablets, and the earrings,

"The rings, and nose jewels.

"The changeable suits of apparel,
and the mantles, and the wimples, and
the crisping pins,

"The glasses, and the fine linen, and
the hoods, and the veils.

"And it shall come to r.ass, that in-
stead of sweet smell there shall be
stink; and instead of a girdle a rent;
and instead of well set hair, baldness;
and instead of a stomacher a girdiner
of sackcloth; and burning instead of
beauty.

"Thy men shall fall hv the sword
and thy mighty in the war.

"And her gates shall lament and
mourn; and she being desolate shall
sit upon the ground."

If the prophet had lived in our
clay, could we better understand

some of the terms he has used? It
would almost seem that some of the
things referred to are the ornaments
of the present. I wonder, as I look
back to the time that is past and see
the destruction that did come upon
some of those whom the Lord
warned through His servants, if we
cannot with profit remember the
past, and teach and guide our chil-
dren to avoid similar excesses and
the sorrow that follows.

I find also something else in the
word of the Lord contained in the
fifth chapter of Alma. He had been
instructing the people with refer-
ence to their duties and he strove to
bless them by teaching what the
Lord would have them know ; he
was advising those whose ancestors
had been miraculously guided across
the mighty ocean to a land of prom-
ise. Being a prophet, he was teach-
ing under the inspiration of the
Spirit of the Lord. He was evi-
dently fearful of the result of the
prosperity of the people and desired
to save them from threatened dan-
ger, and these are a few of the
words that he spoke : "Yea, can ye
be puffed up in the pride of your
hearts? Yea, will ye still persist in
the wearing of costly apparel and
setting your hearts upon the vain
things of the world, upon your
riches?" Those are Alma's words
to the people who dwelt upon this
western land, those who had been
blessed in a remarkable way. I
would call your attention to the final
destruction to that people. They
were blessed of the Lord ; even the
Savior Himself visited and minis-
tered unto them, they saw Him and
heard His voice, and for two hun-
dred years afterward they were a
righteous people. They were an in-
telligent people, too, and highly civ-
ilized, but they transgressed, and de-

ELDER GEORGE ALBERT SMITH.

struction followed. Look at the
scattered bands of Lamanites that
are in this land of ours today, and
realize the pinnacle from which
they fell by reason of disobedience
to the commandments of God
through his prophet. It is well for
us to remember these things be-
cause the same cause will produce
the same effect.

In our day the Lord has cau-
tioned us again. The forty-second
section of the Doctrine and Cove-
nants contains this admonition to
the Church. This doesn't refer to
the time of Isaiah nor to the time
of Alma, but comes right down to
the day in which we live. Through
His prophets He admonishes us
with reference to our duties, and
among the things He says are these :
"And again, thou shalt not be proud
in thy heart ; let all thy garments be
plain, and their beauty the beauty
of the work of thine own hands."
What a splendid thing to contem-
plate in our community. I would
like to read that again. This is what
the Lord advises : "Let all thy gar-
ments be plain, and their beauty the
beauty of the work of thine own
hands."

Now, my brethren and sisters, I
think that is worthy of our consid-
eration. When discussing the high
cost of living, examine your own
household, and I am talking to my-
self while I talk to you. Am I in-
creasing the cost of living by extrav-
agance, or am I teaching my fam-
ily to make the garments they wear ?
Are we using the materials that are
at hand, or are we sending across
the ocean to bring from the nations
afar expensive things for the adorn-
ment of our persons? Right here
in our own community there are
those who prefer articles manufac-
tured in distant lands, when right in

our own neighborhood industries
are struggling for existence, that
would do well if we would patronize
them, and employment would be
furnished many hands now idle.
Our factories can produce prac-
tically all the things that we need,
and they should be sustained by us.
That is self-preservation, for we
would keep our money at home and
employ our own people.

Now, I feel, my brethren and sis-
ters, that this is worth thinking
about. Look at the clothing worn
by employes in offices and stores.
What about the high cost of living?
Extravagance is responsible for
much of it. Many of our young
men and girls when they go to their
daily employment are attired as if
they were going to a party. They
cannot afford it, but beggar them-
selves to keep up with the demands
of fashion. I believe we give en-
tirely too much attention to style,
rather than to the things that will
make us God's children eternally.
We can afford to retrench, and I
recommend to the Latter-day Saints
the words of our beloved President
along that line spoken in this con-
ference. Let us set an example ; let
us live within our means ; let us be
lenders instead of borrowers ; let us
not place our homes or the lands
that produce our living under mort-
gages, in order that we may ride in
fine conveyances or keep up with the
pace set by our neighbors who may
be able to afford it. Let us be more
concerned about the adornment of
our minds that are eternal, rather
than adornment of our persons with
things that are of no lasting benefit.
Let us keep the commandments of
God ; let us live humble, and sweet,
and pure. Let us not be lifted up in
the pride of our hearts if we have
been more successful than our

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

neighbor financially, but, mindful of
the blessings of health and strength,
and the gift of home and loved ones,
appreciating the knowledge of the
Gospel of Jesus Christ that is the
power of God unto salvation, unto
all those that believe and obey it;
let us evidence by loving kindness
to every child of our Heavenly
Father that we are grateful.

May the Lord add His blessing;
may we be righteous exemplars ;
may His peace be upon all Israel.
May the spirit of kindness and love
find its way into the hearts of man-
kind everywhere, that war may
cease and peace and happiness
abound in the world, that from
shore to shore and from pole to pole
the Gospel may be preached with-
out hindrance, and all God's chil-
dren be called from the error of
their way and partake of the glor-
ious blessings that we enjoy in the
valleys of these mountains, that
eventually all mankind may rejoice
in keeping the commandments of
the Lord and obtain eternal life
thereby, is my prayer in the name of
Jesus Christ. Amen.

ELDER ORSON F. WHITNEY.

The Gospel — Tts Scope, and the Re-
sponsibility of those who preach it
— Spiritual and temporal activities —
Various ways of preaching — No
substitute permissible — Human the-
ory versus divine revelation — The
heroism of God's people.

"Woe is unto me if I preach not the
Gospel."

So wrote the Apostle Paul to the
Corinthians. I think I sense in
some degree the weight of the re-
sponsibility that Paul found himself
under. Tt is a responsibility resting
upon any people who have received

a like commission from on high, a
commission to preach the everlast-
ing Gospel That responsibility rests
upon the Latter-day Saints. We
have received the same Gospel that
Paul received, and are under a simi-
lar obligation to preach it in all the
world, as a witness to all nations,
before the end comes. There is
nothing so important, so imperative,
as the delivery of the divine mes-
sage that has been entrusted to us.

But what is the Gospel? Do we
mean by that term faith, repent-
ance, baptism, and the gift of the
Holy Ghost, with other principles
of the religion of Jesus Christ — do
we mean these, and these alone?
Is there nothing more to the Gos-
pel than the laws and ordinances
thereof, and the preaching and per-
forming of the same for the salva-
tion of mankind?

Last summer I stood upon what
is called the Land of Zion — Jack-
son County, Missouri, the spot that
has been consecrated as the site for
the City of Zion, the New Jerusa-
lem, and the gathering thereto of a
people who shall be prepared for
the glorious coming of the Lord. I
stood, in a local sense, upon the
Land of Zion ; but in a larger sense
T did not need to go to Jackson
County, in order to be upon the
Land of Zion. I was standing upon
it here in Utah, before I went down
to Missouri. The whole of Amer-
ica is the Land of Zion, according
to the teachings of the Prophet
Joseph Smith. Even so, while we
refer specifically to the Gospel, in-
cluding in that reference such prin-
ciples as faith, repentance, baptism,
and the laying' on of hands for the
gift of the Holy Ghost — while these,
in a specific sense, are the Gospel,
in a larger view the Gospel means
everything connected with the work

ELDER ORSON F. WHITNEY.

of the Lord in which we are taking
part.

The very word "Gospel" teaches
this truth. It springs from an
Anglo-Saxon term— "Godspell,"
signifying God-story, or the story
of God. When we speak of the
Gospel in this greater sense, we
mean the career of that divine Being
who left His glorious throne in
heaven and descended upon this
planet to die that man might
live, who became the author of sal-
vation and the giver of eternal
glory to all who would believe on
Him and obey Him. The God-story
includes the choosing of the Christ
in the councils of eternity, the cre-
ation, and the fall of Adam and
Eve which prepared the way before
the Savior and His great uplifting-
work. It includes His death upon
the Cross, and His resurrection,
concerning which He said : "Be-
cause I live ye shall live also." It
includes all the dispensations of the
Gospel from the days of Adam to
the present time. It covers this
great and final dispensation, which
will gather to its bosom all former
dispensations of God's dealings with
man, and bind them together in one
harmonious whole. It comprises the
work of Joseph the Prophet and the
latter-day restoration of the Gos-
pel. It extends over the future,
over the Millennium that is to come,
the reign of universal peace and
good will, and over the glorification
of our planet and its conversion into
a heaven, the abode of the righteous
forevermore. These are all parts of
the great God-story, the Gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Latter-day Saints have been
criticised and even ridiculed because
the Church to which they belong has
had so much to do with temporal
things. Men have apostatized in

times past, and have tried to justify
their defection from the truth on
the plea that the Church was en-
grossed with temporalities — with
the construction of canals, the build-
ing of railroads, the extension of
telegraphs, the founding of co-op-
erative stores, mills, and factories,
the institution and promotion of in-
dustrial enterprises of various kinds.
As if these things had no connec-
tion with the work of God and were
no part of the divine plan for the
building up of His kingdom. As if
a desert could be redeemed by
prayer and prophecy alone ! As if
colonization and empire-founding
could be accomplished merely by
sitting in meeting and singing
hymns, or by preaching and listen-
ing to sermons. The Latter-day
Saints realize that the Gospel em-
braces temporal as well as spiritual
duties ; that it is intended to save the
souls of men ; and that the soul is
not spirit alone, nor body alone, but
spirit and body combined. The two
priesthoods under which this Church
was organized and by virtue of
which it carries on its work, are an
object lesson, teaching the Latter-
day Saints that they are expected to
interest themselves in temporal af-
fairs as well as in spiritual concerns
— which, after all, include the
temporal, as the greater includes the.
less. All God's commandments are
spiritual, and as such they cover all
things, the temporal as well as the
spiritual. Those same apostates, if
they were here today, would com-
plain about the water reservoirs, the
sugar factories, the knitting works,
and the various other enterprises that
have been carried on or assisted with
means voluntarily contributed by the
Latter-day Saints for the building
up of Zion. I wonder they did not
grumble because our people in early

100

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

days found it necessary to battle
with crickets and grasshoppers and
even to fight Indians, in order to
save themselves from destruction.
About the only temporal activities
they did not find fault with were
gold and silver mining, in which
they themselves were engaged.

Our missionaries, our boys, our
fifteen hundred to two thousand
striplings who go forth into the
world to testify that Jesus is the
Christ and that Joseph Smith is His
Prophet — they are not the only ones
who are preaching the Gospel in
this dispensation. Their fathers and
mothers who send them means to
enable them to travel from place to
place, they are preaching the Gos-
pel by the assistance thus rendered
to their sons in the mission field.
And behind them also — as Brother
Roberts reminded us in a recent
meeting — is the great Church that
sends them forth — a vast spiritual-
temporal machine for the preaching
of the Gospel, the saving of souls,
and the preparation of the world
for the Savior's coming. Those
who receive these missionaries into
their .homes, who feed them and
help them on their way, are likewise
preaching the Gospel ; for it can
be preached in many ways, and by
example as well as by precept. We
can all be preachers of it — can all
tell some part of the great story
of God and the building up of his
kingdom. They who pay tithes and
offerings or otherwise contribute to
the revenues of the Church, are
helping to proclaim the message of
salvation. The larger view need
only to be taken, and our course is
vindicated, whether it deals with
things temporal or things spiritual.
There is a work for every man, wo-
man and child in the preaching of
the Gospel, and woe unto those who

have had this commission put upon
them, if they neglect it! We need
not worry about temporalities ; all
we need concern ourselves over, is
whether we are doing our duty
where God has placed us, and hold-
ing first in our hearts the interests
of His work. Never aggrandize
yourselves at the expense of the
Kingdom of God.

We cannot safely substitute any-
thing for the Gospel. We have no
right to take the theories of men.
however scholarly, however learned,
and set them up as a standard, and
try to make the Gospel bow down
to them ; making of them an iron
bedstead upon which God's truth, if
not long enough, must be stretched
out, or if too long, must be chopped
off — anything to make it fit into the
system of men's thoughts and the-
ories ! On the contrary, we should
hold up the Gospel as the standard
of truth, and measure thereby the
theories and opinions of men. What
God has revealed, what the prophets
have spoken, what the servants of
the Lord proclaim when inspired
by the Holy Ghost, can be de-
pended upon, for these are the ut-
terances of a spirit that cannot lie
and that does not make mistakes ;
while the teachings of men are often
based upon sophistry and founded
upon false reasoning. Uninspired
men are prone to judge by outward
appearances, and to allow prejudice
and plausibilities to usurp the place
of divine truth as God has made it
known.

The Savior declared : "This gos-
pel of the kingdom shall be preached
in all the world for a witness unto
all nations ; and then shall the end
come." And He gave, as one of the
signs of His second coming, "wars
and rumors of wars," which He said
"must come to pass." Joseph

ELDER ORSON F. WHITNEY

101

Smith supplemented this divine pre-
diction with the prophecy that war
would be "poured out upon all na-
tions ;" the Lord declared through
him that those who gathered to Zion
from the various nations would be
the only people under the whole
heaven that would not be at war one
with another, and that they who
would not take up the sword against
their neighbor must needs flee unto
Zion for safety. But last summer,
as I am told — for I was not present
— but I am informed that a learned
gentleman, not of our faith, though
a very estimable man, a scholar, a
philosopher, a good and wise teach-
er, stood up in Salt Lake City and
declared it to be his conviction that
there could not be another great
war upon this earth. The peoples
of the world were too refined, too
civilized, too cultured, to permit or
tolerate anything of the kind ; the
financiers would not stand for it,
would not furnish the "sinews of
war," would, not finance the armies
and the military movements, and
consequently such a war could not
be. Since then the greatest hell of
conflict that the world has ever
known has burst forth and now
wraps Europe in flames. In the
light of such developments, which
are you going to depend upon —
which can you afford to tie to — the
theories of men or the revelations
of Almighty God?

What more eloquent preaching of
the Gospel has there ever been, in
this or any previous age, than the
great gathering movement which
has been going on since Joseph
Smith lifted up the standard of the
restored Gospel in this dispensa-
tion? There is no more eloquent
preaching than when men and
women will forsake their native
land, their homes, their parents.

their children, their material posr
sessions — every earthly thing, and
cross the stormy ocean, the heated
plains, the frosty mountains, many
of them laying down their lives, to
be buried in lonely graves by the
wayside ; pulling hand carts, wading
rivers, crossing deserts, climbing
mountains, and settling in a barren
waste — all for what? Was it for
gold and silver, houses and lands,
flocks and herds, and the betterment
of their temporal condition? Was
it for the honors of men and the ap-
plause of the world that they did
these things ? No, it was because
they loved God and wanted to build
up His kingdom. They had heard
the voice of the Shepherd; they
were' His sheep, and a stranger
they would not follow. Yet these
people, our grandfathers and
grandmothers, our parents, who
came from Scandinavia, from
Germany, from Switzerland, from
England, Scotland, and Wales,
from Australia and the islands of
the sea, from Canada and the
States of the Union, braving every
hardship, facing every peril, laying
their all upon the altar, coming out
and fighting for God and His divine
purpose — they are called by some
"the offscourings of the earth," "the
scum of creation!" Perhaps it is
because they "came out on top !"
(Laughter.) But cream also rises,
and if I were asked to characterize
and describe the Latter-day Saints
who have made such sacrifices, I
would say they are the cream of
God's creation — the heroes and the
heroines of modern times. There is
no more eloquent preaching of the
gospel than is found in their toils
and privations, in their struggles
and achievements.

All men will not receive the Gos-
pel. Some hate the truth, and turn

102

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

from it instinctively. A man who
is wallowing in sensuality, giving
himself up to the gratification of his
base appetities and desires, he does
not love the person who comes to
him and warns him to stop these
evil practices ; he hates him — hates
him for the message that he bears,
for he wants to be let alone to con-
tinue his wallowing in the mire.
Such men will not receive the truth
— unless God puts His Spirit into
their hearts ; for after all men are
not converted by preaching, nor by
anything else than the Spirit of the
Lord. Some people hate the truth,
and love darkness rather than light,
"because their deeds are evil."

There are others who are clean
of conduct, and who love the truth,
or would love it if they could only
see it. But they are spiritually blind.
They have listened to lies and slan-
ders about this work, until they are
filled with prejudice and cannot see
clearly. We are surrounded by such
people here in Salt Lake City and
elsewhere, and we must be patient
with them. President Smith says
that he can love any honest man, no
matter how much he differs from
him in opinion. We can all afford
to follow that example, and be pa-
tient and kind and forbearing to
those who do not see just as we see.

There are still others, who love
the truth and who recognize it, but
they dare not espouse it ; they are
afraid of the social consequences.
This whole broad land, this whole
broad world is sprinkled with such
people. Our boys meet them, and
our girls, not only in the mission
field, but in the colleges and univer-
sities of East and West. When the
principles of the Gospel are pre-
sented to them they say, in surprise
and astonishment: "Is that 'Mor-
monisrn?" I never dreamed it. Why,

that is true — I believe it with all my
heart." And the tears spring to
their eyes as they acknowledge it.
But they don't come out in the open
and fight for it. Why not? Judge
ye. Brother Smoot truly told us
that the crying evil of this genera-
tion is moral cowardice.

"They are slaves who fear to speak
For the fallen and the weak;
They are slaves who will not choose
Hatred, scoffing and abuse,
Rather than in silence shrink
From the truth thfey needs must
think;

They are slaves who dare not be
In the right with two or three."

I thank God that I belong to a
people who not only love the truth,
but who recognized it when it came
to them and were not ashamed to
stoop and pick up the diamond from
the dust. ''Truth is truth, where'er
'tis found," and a diamond is a dia-
mond, whether it sparkle in the dust
at your feet or glitter in the diadem
of a queen. I thank God that I am
numbered among a people — that I
am descended from parents and
grandparents who not only saw the
truth, and loved it, but also dared to
come out and fight for it and suffer
for it. "Scum of creation," for-
sooth ! Where, then, will you find
your heroes and heroines?

Some day "Mormonism" will be
popular ; the whole world will follow-
after it, shouting its praises and eu-
logizing those who were brave
enough to befriend it in the days of
its obscurity. There will be no lack
of friends and followers in that day ;
but now is the accepted time, when
the world is being tested, to see
whether it will befriend the truth in
its poverty, and without waiting for
it to become popular before bowing
down to it and rendering the hom-
age that is its due.

ELDER DAVID O. McKAY.

103

"Then to side with truth is noble

When we share her wretched crust,
Ere her cause bring fame and profit,

And 'tis prosperous to be just;
Then it is the brave man chooses,

Wrhile the coward stands aside,
Doubting in his abject spirit,

Till his Lord is crucified,
And the multitude make virtue

Of the faith they had denied."

May God keep us steadfast in the
truth, and help us to preach the Gos-
pel and discharge the great respon-
sibility that rests upon us, the pro-
claiming of the message of salva-
tion, by example as well as by pre-
cept, and may we all endure faithful
to the end, through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.

A duet entiled, "Music of the
Pines," was sung by Sisters Lizzie
Thomas Edward and Agnes McMil-
lan Bolto ; words and music by
John Chamberlain.

ELDER DAVID O. M'KAY.

Mutual aid of Church members —
Those who give offerings, and ob-
serve to fast, bless themselves —
Healthful effect of fasting — Fasting,
a means of attaining self-control — If
each member of Church donated
ten cents monthly, all needs of the
poor could be supplied.

"Our people are efficient, prosper-
ous and happy, because we are a
body who aid One another in the pro-
ductive life." This expression from
a recent publication entitled, "The
Religion worth having," came to me
this afternoon as I listened to my
brethren present the various phases
of this great latter day work. The
Latter-day Saints are truly a people
who aid one another in the produc-
tive life, a life that tends towards
the salvation of the human being.
By that salvation I do not mean just

a place in the hereafter where all our
cares and worries may cease, but a
salvation that applies to the indi-
vidual, to the family and to society
here and now. Through the Gos-
pel of Jesus Christ, and the perfect
organization of the Church as re-
vealed in this dispensation to the
Prophet Joseph Smith, we are aid-
ing one another spiritually by tak-
ing advantage of the many oppor-
tunities for service in the Church.
We are fostering brotherhood by
activity and association in priest-
hood quorums, in auxiliary associa-
tions and in our social gatherings
and ward reunions. We are aiding
the young people in securing ivhole-
some pleasures, by giving them
sweet and wholesome enjoyment
under the direction of the priest-
hood, as it serves particularly in the
Mutual Improvement Associations
of the Church as well as in other
organizations and in the amuse-
ments under the direction of the au-
thorities of the ward. The Church
is aiding in temporal matters and a
practical benefit is resulting to the
people today through the united ef-
forts of the membership of the
Church. In such ways, and many
others, the Church fosters the prac-
tical things of life.

During the few minutes that I
stand here this afternoon I desire
to call attention to the principle
of Fast Offerings, as one of our
economic efforts toward aiding one
another. I mention it because of
the fact that in the report given by
our president at the opening of this
conference, it was stated that $160,-

000 had been appropriated from the
tithing fund to aid the worthy poor.

1 thought at once of this principle
established by revelation whereby
all the men and women in the
Church may not only benefit those.

104

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

who are in need of financial aid,
but by so doing may bring blessings
unto themselves. We are asked, as
a Church, to fast once a month — to
refrain from eating from Saturday
evening meal until Sunday evening
meal. The requirement is that all
members of the Church fast that
day, attend to their meetings, par-
ticularly their sacrament meeting,
and in accordance with the revela-
tion of God, give their oblations,
render their sacraments and offer
their prayers to God. We are asked,
further, to contribute in effect the
amount of those two meals for the
benefit of the worthy poor in the
ward. No stated amount is given,
each one is left to give voluntarily
that which he believes he ought to
give, so that the bishop may have
in his hands sufficient funds to aid
those who may be in need.

Now, it is a little, simple thing,
and at first thought it does not seem
to have much of the power of salva-
tion in it, but like all other principles
and ordinances of the Gospel of
Christ, it is associated with the fun-
damental principles of life and sal-
vation. That is why I desire to call
the attention of the presiding au-
thorities who are before me, as well
as of all the Saints in Israel, to the
importance of living up to this re-
quirement more closely in the future
than they have done in the past.
Let us see what it means.

If we contribute to the bishop the
value of two meals once a month,
we are certainly no poorer finan-
cially than we would be if we had
-consumed those meals as we reg-
ularlv do. There cannot be any
loss to our own family in a financial
•way, and we have given at least a
mite towards alleviation of hunger,
perhaps distress, in some home that
is less fortunate, less blessed than

we. There is no loss to us finan-
cially, no man is poorer, no man is
deprived of one blessing, no child
is deprived of anything that he
would have had if he refrained from
giving that small contribution.
Financially then, nobody who gives
it is any the poorer.

Physically, we are better off by
refraining from eating at least once
a month than we are when we eat
regularly three meals a day. Time
will not permit to go into this phase
of the subject; but I am just re-
minded now of having read a few
days ago, the opinion -of one of our
leading athletes who in his training
watched the effect of eating three
regular meals, then of eating two
regular meals and finally of eating
one meal daily, regularly, and he
concludes so far as he is concerned
that when he ate three meals a day
he had been eating too much, and
when so doing he found it neces-
sary to fast at regular periods in
order to maintain his vitality to the
standard possessed when he ate
more sparingly. Physiology books
will give us the same lesson. So,
generally speaking — each individ-
ual must take this for his own good,
— but generally speaking no person
is injured in any way by his depriv-
ing himself of those two meals on
Fast Day, but on the contrary he is
benefitted physically.

There is still another blessing,
and here I believe is the most potent
factor, the most saving power in this
Fast day requirement. What our
young people need, what every man
and woman in this world needs in
order to keep himself or herself free
and unspotted from the sins of the
world, is the power of self-mastery.
Fach individual should studiously
practice self-control. It does not
come all -at once. Nature never

ELDER DAVID 6. McKAY

105

makes cash payments as a whole,
says William George Jordan. Her
payments are always made in small
installments. Those who desire to
win self-mastery must do it by
constant application. About the
only definite command, to fast as
given in the Law, refers to this prin-
ciple as an ''affliction of the soul,"
It is associated with spiritual uplift,
and therein is one of the greatest
blessings that come to those who
will fast as God has asked them to.
Some may say, "Well, that isn't
much, I cannot see how the refrain-
ing from partaking of food once a
month regularly is going to give me
any self-control." It does, however,
it is one of the best lessons that
adults as well as children can prac-
tice. Appetite is calling, there is a
yearning and the natural tendency is
to yield. Teach the child to master
appetite. Teach him, not harshly,
but kindly, with the Spirit of the
Lord, with the spirit in which the
revelation was given, and you will
find that in childhood these little les-
sons in abstinence coming daily to
your boy. unconsciously are placing
into his little spirit power that may
save him from falling in disgrace
sometime when he is driven on by
the fire of youth to the very verge of
the precipice of destruction. Then
is the time that he will need mastery
of self and he will have it. Men
who have studied this principle sug-
gest that we need to take some such
lesson as this not onlv weeklv or
monthly, but daily. ' Mr. Wm.
George Jordan, savs in that excel-
lent article, "The Kingship of Self-
Control" :

_ "Let us each day do as mere exercises
in discipline, in moral gymnastics,
a few facts that are disagreeable to us',
the doing of which will help us in in-
stant action in our hour of need. The

exercises may be very simple, drop-
ping for a time an intensely interest-
ing book at the most thrilling pa^e
of the story, walking home when one
is able, when the desire is to take a
street car; talking to some disagree-
able person and trying to make the
conversation pleasant. These dailv
exercises in moral discipline will have
a wonderous tonic effect on man's
whole nature. The individual can at-
tain self-control in great things onlv
through self-control in little things"
Unat is in harmony with the sugges-
tions that Professor James gives in
Ins excellent article on "Habit " He
makes practically the same point, by
saying,] "Be systematically ascetic
or heroic in little unnecessary points-
do, every day or two, something for
no other reason than that you would
rather not do it; so that when the
h-our of dire need draws nigh it may
nnd you not unnerved and untrained
to stand the test." He says it is some-
thing like paying an insurance, a fire
insurance; you may not need it, but if
ever the fire come you are protected
by the small payments you have
given "so it is" he says, "in these
daily habits of concentrated attention
energetic volition and self-denial in un-
necessary things. The man will stand
like a tower when everything rocks
around him and when his softer fellow
mortals are winnowed like chaff in the
blast."

Don't think that there is not a
spiritual significance in the little
principle of fasting. Don't think
parents, that you are favoring your
child when, out of compassion, you
say, "Oh give him his breakfast;
oh let us have breakfast ; let us have
dinner; I have the headache; the
little boy is too young to go with-
out his meal," and so on. You don't
know what you are doing by such
teaching as that. I want to tell you
that the children of our Church can
be so taught this principle of self-
denial that they will set worthy ex-
amples to their parents in the ob-
servance of it. Your little deacons
particularly — there is a magnificant

106

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

opportunity for teaching them one
way of honoring the priesthood.

Now, what does obedience to this
requirement mean in aiding those
who might be in need? It means
that one hundred sixty thousand
dollars need not be taken from the
tithing fund because some of us did
not comply with the principle of
fast-offerings ! If you estimate
those two meals as being worth only
five cents each — that is all, say that
you are saving, by refraining from
eating those two meals, only five
cents each. If you contribute that
amount as your offering on fast day,
your bishop will have sufficient
funds in his hands to pay out all
that he needed in 1914 to support
his worthy poor and will have as
much more on hand towards help
for the next year. Five cents a
meal for each person is not much ;
surely we ought to do that. This
would mean $1.20 per capita, an
amount more than sufficient to
supply all the present demands for
the worthy poor in our Church.
Think what it means and particu-
larly when we are aiding ourselves
by doing it. We are losing nothing
financially ; we are blessing our-
selves physically, and we are gain-
ing greater spiritual power, to
withstand the temptations that we
meet in life : and best of all, we are
practicing the very essence of our
religion ; the true Christ-spirit is
manifest in that little offering. You
know what the Savior said when He
referred to the time when the Son
of Man shall come in His Glory:

"Come ye, blessed of My Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you;
for 1 was an hungered and ye gave
Me meat; I was naked and ye clothed
Me; I was thirsty and ye gave Me
drink; I was sick and in prison and
ye visited Me; and then they will say:
Lord, when saw we Thde hungry and

gave Thee meat? or thirsty and gave
Thee drink? or naked and clothed
Thee? or sick and in prison and visited
Thee? Then will He say to them:
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the
least of these My brethren ye have
done it unto Me."

That is in accord with the beauti-
ful sentiment expressed in the last
stanza of the hymn that the prophet
had sung in Carthage jail, just be-
fore he was martyred. "A Poor
Wayfaring Man of Grief." You
remember how he was hungry,
thirsty, beaten, thrust into prison ;
and then at last, in a moment, "the
stranger started from disguise" :

"The tokens in his hands 1 knew.
The Savior stood before my eyes;
He spake and my poor name he
named,

Of. me thou hast not been ashamed;
These deeds shall thy memorial be,
Fear not, thou didst them unto me."

God help us to obey these prin-
ciples more faithfully in the future
than we have in the past, to be ef-
ficient, prosperous and happy al-
ways, because in the strictest sense
of the word we do all we can, by
obedience to the principles and or-
dinances-of the Gospel, to aid one
another in the productive life ; I ask
it in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.

ELDER CHARLES A. CALLIS.

( President of Southern States Mission.)

In the Doctrine and Covenants,
the Lord tells us that we offend Him
when we do not acknowledge His
hand in the events which shape our
lives. We live in a day of miracles,
but unfortunately the hearts of the
people have waxed gross,, and their
ears dull, that they do not perceive
the hand of the Almighty in the
events which are transpiring. I be-

ELDER CHARLEC A. CALLIS.

107

lieve that the deliverance of Wash-
ington's army by the fog, when mis-
fortune faced him, was miraculous,
as was the cloud and the pillar of
fire that came between the fleeing
Israelites and the pursuing Egyp-
tians. Hundreds of years before the
coming of the Redeemer in the flesh
Xephi uttered this splendid proph-
ecy : "In the day that the prophecies
of Isaiah shall be fulfilled, men shall
know of a surety, at the times when
they shall come to pass." And so
Jesus said to the people, "If any
man will do the will of the Father he
shall know of the doctrine whether
it be of God or whether I speak of
myself." Isaiah predicted the com-
ing of Jesus, he predicted His life's
work ; and Peter having obeyed the
will of God could say so grandly to
his Master, "Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God." When
Jesus passed away, what power was
it that upheld Peter and his fellow
apostles in declaring and testifying,
and sealing their testimony with
their life's blood What power was
it that called them to adhere to this
testimony? It was the power of
God. It was the power of the Holy
Ghost by which, the Prophet Joseph
tells us, angels speak; therefore they
speak the truth.

It must be borne in mind that
Isaiah predicted the mission of
Joseph Smith, the prophet of God,
as well as the .mission of Jesus the
Redeemer ; and so the prophesy of
Xephi holds good in this case, too,
that men should know of a surety
when all the prophecies of Isaiah
should be fulfilled. So we behold
the three witnesses to the Book of
Mormon, faithful unto death to
their testimony, speaking in the fear
of God, because Nephi's promise
had been richly fulfilled in them, and
they knew by the power of God,

what

son } knew by the gift of the Holy
and sfr that this book was translated
bp1 the gift and power of God. This
testimony has come to the Saints of
God, the testimony that they do
know that Jesus is the Christ, and
that Joseph Smith was a prophet of
. God.

Jesus said, speaking- of His sec-
ond coming: "And He shall send
His angels with the great sound of
a trumpet ; and they shall gather to-
gether His elect from the four
winds, from one end of heaven to
the other." Those angels have come ;
that mighty angel Moroni brought
the Book of Mormon; and the
prophets of God predicted that when
this book should come forth, in the
dispensation of the fullness of times,
the gathering of Israel from their
long dispersion would commence.
In the Kirtland Temple, Moses ap-
peared unto the Prophet Joseph
Smith and delivered unto him the
keys of the gathering, and the peo-
ple of God are engaged in this great,
this noble, this mighty work, sup-
ported by the knowledge, by the
surety that this work is of God and
that it is the power of God unto
salvation. Look at the ministry of
the elders in the field, your sons and
daughters, my brethren and sisters.
Truly their ministry is a miracle,
when we contemplate the fact that
they are there in the world outside,
you might say, of the sphere of in-
fluence which the priesthood wields
at home. Men have said that the
elders belong to the Church largely,
because of their fathers and their
mothers, because of the influence of
the authorities of the Church. Then
I ask, what power sustains them in
the world when surrounded by
strangers, by enemies in many
cases? What power sustains them
in delivering their testimony? What

108

GENERAL^ CONFERENCE.

power magnifies them in the-ne
of the people, and blesses them i
power and influence in the pfeir. .-
ing of the Gospel? It is the power
of the Christ. Not long ago I stood
on the streets of Ohio assisting a
young elder to hold an open-air
meeting. As that boy, 20 years old,
stood before that vast congregation,
preaching the Gospel, with the love
of God and innocence stamped upon
his features, the tears flowed from
my eyes, and I said to myself, would
to God that his father and mother
could look upon their son at this
moment.

The spirit, the missionary spirit,
is in this Church ; it is the greatest
spirit of all. Why? Because this
Church has a mission ; it is the great
missionary in the world to prepare
a people for the second coming of
the Son of God. Last fall the
Southern States Mission was hon-
ored by the visit of President Joseph
F. Smith. President Charles W.
Penrose, Elders George Albert
Smith and Joseph F. Smith, Jr.. of
the Twelve, and the Presiding
F>ishop, G. W. Nibley. In the great
cities of Memphis. Chattanooga, At-
lanta, and Jacksonville, the people
turned out in multitudes to listen to
the word of the Lord. Up to that
time no general public invitation of
that kind had been issued to the
people of those great cities ; and
when the President of the Church
stood there and preached the Gos-
pel to those congregations of Gen-
tiles to men who were prominent in
the business and professional life of
those cities, to men who stood high
in society and in governmental af-
fairs, when T heard the President of
the Church and his counselor, and
the other brethren, preach the Gos-
pel to them as missionaries, in the
true missionary spirit. I felt to re-

joice, because I knew that God was
with His servants and that they
were delivering His message to the
people.

Talk about their being something
in "Mormonism !" Why, the Gen-
tiles know there is something in
"Mormonism." If every man, not
in the Church, who believes that
Joseph Smith is a prophet of God,
I say, if every man who believes that
Joseph Smith is a prophet of God
would come into the Church, the
membership of this Church would
be added to by tens of thousands ;
for the knowledge that Joseph was
a prophet is deepening in the world,
it is taking hold of the minds of
men. This Book of Mormon, with
the Bible, is confounding false doc-
trine ; it is opening the eyes of the
people ; it is causing those that
erred to come to understanding ; it is
causing those that murmur to learn
doctrine and be blessed of the Lord.
One of our Southern statesmen told
President Smith that he had been to
Utah, he said: "President Smith,
as 1 surveyed the achievements of
your people, as I looked at what
*Mormonism' had done for the peo-
ple, and what it had done for the
country, 1 felt that there was power
in 'Mormonism,' and power for
good." My brethren and sisters,
that statesman who declared that
truth is only one of many who feel
the same way.

I rejoice in the glory of God. I
love to see this Church grow in in-
fluence and in power. When men
honor my leaders, the leaders of this
Church, they honor me; for as we
help tO build up the work of the
Lord we build up ourselves. This
people must rise as a people, some
must not pull down while others lift
up : we must all rise together, keep
the commandments of God and dis-

ELDER CHARLES A. CALLIS.

109

charge our duties. I thank God for
this missionary spirit. I bear you
my testimony, my brethren and sis-
ters, that the authorities of this
Church have the missionary spirit,
and in that spirit this people will
succeed. In that faith they will go
forth to perfection.

I beg of you, fathers and mothers,
to write good letters to your sons ;
write them Gospel letters, not
gossip. Write them good Gospel
letters, filled with the spirit, and
filled with encouragement. Oh the
beautiful letters that come from the
mothers ! What splendid faith they
have. It happens once in awhile,
that an elder lays down his life in
the field ; he dies at his post of duty.
I tell you, my brethren and sisters,
the faith of the mother rises to
heights of sublimity. Her son, who
is to his mother even as the apple
of her eye, is brought home to her
in death. That mother's sublime
faith — it pierces the heavens, so to
speak, and she beholds, in her sor-
row, the power of God, and with an
eye of faith, which all the mothers
of Israel have, she looks upon her
son, cold in death, yet she knows
that God's rich promises in her son
shall be fulfilled in God's own time
and in His way. She knows that

what God has begun in her darling
son He will finish in glory, in honor,
and in exaltation ; for she knows the
holy ordinances by which this may
be brought about.

I desire to praise the Lord all the
days of my life. I love God ; I love
my brethren ; I love the people of
the Lord; for they are the best
people on the face of the earth.

"I'll praise my Maker, while I've
breath,

And when my voice is lost in death
Praise shall employ my noblest
powers,

My days of praise shall ne'er be past,
While life and thought and being last
Or immortality endures."

Amen.

The congregation sang the hymn :

TheSpirit of God like a fire is burn-
ing!

The latter-day glory begins to come
forth;

The visions and blessings of old are
returning,
And angels are coming to visit the
earth.

Benediction was pronounced by
Elder Walter P. Monson.

Conference adjourned until Tues-
day, April 6th, at 10 a. m.

THIRD DAY.

Conference was resumed in the
Tabernacle, at 10 a. m., Tuesday,
April 6th ; President Joseph F.
Smith presiding.

The congregation sang the hymn :

O ye mountains high, where the clear
blue sky-
Arches over the vales of the free,
Where the pure breezes blow and the
clear streamlets flow,
How I've longed to your bosom to
flee.

Elder John L. Herrick offered the
opening prayer.

The congregation sang the hymn :

Now let us rejoice in the day of salva-
tion ;

No longer as stFangers on earth

need we roam.
Good tidings are sounding to us and

each nation,
And shortly the hour of redemption

will come.

ELDER ANTHONY W. IVINS.

Evidences that "a great and marvelous
work" has come forth — World-wide
proclamation of the Gospel — Un-
paralleled gathering from all na-
tions— Many millions yet to be
warned — Saints should be interested
in national welfare — Righteousness
needed in the nation, as in the
Church.

"Now, behold a great and marvel-
ous work is about to come forth
among the children of men. There-
fore, O yet that embark in the service
of God, see that ye serve Him with
all your heart, might, mind and
strength, that ye may stand blameless
before God at the last day."

T suppose, my brethren and sis-

ters, that the varied exercises of this
conference, the words of inspira-
tion which have been spoken, have
prompted us to think upon a variety
of subjects. There has been some
outstanding thought, perhaps, in all
of our minds, varying as the dif-
ferent subjects, all of which are of
very great importance, have been
treated. It has been so with me.
From the opening session of the
conference, when the President of
the Church made that splendid re-
port of its condition, I have been
thinking of these words of the Lord
which I have read. This revelation
was given more than a year before
the organization of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Church had not come into
existence as a recognized body. The
Book of Mormon had been pub-
lished ; a few men and women had
been converted to the truth, and to
the divinity of the mission of the
boy prophet, who had translated and
published it to the world. More
than a year later, when the Church
was finally organized, there were but
six persons present who were recog-
nized as participating in that organ-
ization, that were members of the
Church. The total wealth of those
people combined was scarcely suf-
ficient to print the Book of Mormon
and offer it to the world, and yet
upon that little handful of men and
women devolved the mission of pro-
claiming to the world the opening
of this Gospel dispensation, and the
appearance of the Father and the
Son. Their mission was to con-

ELDER ANTHONY W. IVINS.

Ill

found false doctrine, to proclaim
truth, and lay the foundations for
the establishment of God's kingdom
upon earth.

I have been looking- backward
over these eighty-five years of the
existence of the Church. I have
been making some comparisons. I
have been asking myself the ques-
tion, have these words of the Lord,
which were spoken before the or-
ganization of the Church, been ful-
filled, -were they true? And I re-
membered that during those eighty-
five years, from that little handful
of people have come the multitude
who make up the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints ; I re-
membered that the Gospel had been
preached in every state of this
Union : that it had been preached in
Mexico and Canada, and had been
carried to South America ; that it
had been preached in the Scandi-
navian countries of northern Eur-
ope, where multitudes of men and
women, Israelites and heirs to the
Gospel by right of the promise, have
been brought into the fold of Christ,
and numbered among the Saints of
God ; that it had been preached in
Germany, in Belgium, in Holland,
in a limited degree in France, in the
British Isles, and in the Turkish
Empire : that it had been carried to
India; not much done in China, but
has been carried to the empire of
Japan, and to all the Polynesian
islands of the Pacific. Many thou-
sands of people have believed and
obeyed it ; inspired by the Spirit of
the Lord they have been gathered
together here in the tops of the
mountains. Driven from place to
place, in poverty, in distress, the
Church was bodily moved from the
east and planted here in these moun-
tains, with the result which we see
todav.

There are scores of individuals
in the Church today each of whom
possess greater wealth than its en-
tire membership did at the time that
these words of the Lord were ut-
tered. The Gospel has been preach-
ed almost everywhere. There is not,
I believe I am safe in saying, in the
history of the world, a parallel to it.
Greater multitudes of people may
have been converted to the truth in
other Gospel dispensations, but if
so, that conversion occurred in their
own immediate vicinity and neigh-
borhood. To have covered the civ-
ilized world, to have circumnavi-
gated the earth, and above all, to
have brought together these peo-
ple from different nations, planting
them in communities, strangers to
each other by nationality and birth,
and establish harmony, union, one
purpose," that being the accomplish-
ment of God's will in the earth, I
say that no such thing has ever been
undertaken and successfully ac-
complished before in the world's
history. A great and marvelous
work was about to come forth, and
I believe that we are justified in
saying, not boasting, but in humility
before the Lord, and giving Him
credit for all that has been accom-
plished, that He has vindicated His
word, and that a great and marvel-
ous work has been accomplished
through the ministry of His ser-
vants, endowed with the Holy
Priesthood, as they have gone out
from His Church, and promulgated
the truths of His Gospel in the
world.

So much for the past. Now, when
we contemplate these conditions,
these splendid results, are we justi-
fied in saying that we have done
enough, that the work of the Lord
is finished, that there is nothing
more for Latter-day Saints to do?

112

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

I believe that there is no condition
so dangerous, either to an individ-
ual, a community, or a nation, as
that which leads him to believe that
he has reached the point where there
is nothing more to do, nothing more
to be accomplished, no farther
progress, no development ; that very
moment retrogression begins. So
I see before me, just as I regard the
accomplishments of the past a mir-
acle wrought by the hand of God, as
I look into the future greater works
to be done, demanding our atten-
tion, our energy, the exercise of our
faith and all the power that we can
get from the Father. While it is
true that the Gospel has thus been
generally preached in the world, it
is also true that but a very small
proportion of the inhabitants of the
earth have yet heard it, or looked
upon the face of a man bearing the
Priesthood, and authorized to speak
in the name of the Lord in this dis-
pensation ; millions of people in our
own country must hear the truth,
millions of people in the old world,
the empires of Russia, China, and
India; millions of people who are
in Mexico, Central and South Amer-
ica must hear the Gospel, as we
have heard it.

One of the great future accomp-
lishments of this Church, and one
which devolves upon us, is the
preaching of the Gospel of the Re-
deemer to the scattered remnants of
the House of Israel. I am a be-
liever in the word of the Lord. I
believe the things that are written
in this book from which T read, the
Doctrine and Covenants. I believe
the promises of God as they are con-
tained here in this Book of Mor-
mon. What a strength that book
has been to me ! How I have
thanked the Lord for it, for it has
taught me the better way of life. It

deals plainly with the doctrines of
the Gospel, teaches me my duty as
a member of the Church, teaches me
my duty to the state, teaches me my
duty to my fellow man, and if the
things contained there are true, just
as^ certain as the sun shines in yon-
der heaven, so will the remnant who
have descended from the men who
wrote it, be brought to a knowl-
edge of the truth of the Gospel of
the Redeemer, come into the Church
and be numbered with the Saints
of God. The Lord has promised it,
unconditionally ; that is to say, un-
conditionally except as it depends
upon their repentance, but that they
will repent He has told us in the
most definite manner, and there are
millions of them around us, my
brethren and sisters. These Laman-
ites, are heirs to the promises, and
God has said, without qualification,
that He will give this land to them
for an everlasting inheritance, that
they shall be, with us, the builders
of the New Jerusalem ; the powers
of heaven shall be among them, and
they shall know the record of their
fathers which has been brought to
US through the instrumentality of
the Prophet Joseph Smith. I could
read to you from this same book the
word of the Lord in regard to that.
Perhaps I had better do it, because
I like to justify what I say. by the
word of the Lord :

"Nevertheless, My work shall go
forth, for inasmuch as the knowledge
of a Savior has come unto the world,
through the testimony of the Jews,
even so shall the knowledge of a
Savior come unto My people.

"And to the Nephites, and the
Jacobites, and the Josephites, and the
Zoramites, through the testimony of
their fathers —

"And this testimony shall come to
the knowledge of the Lamanites, and
the Lemuelites, and the Ishmaelites,

ELDER ANTHONY IV. IVINS.

113

who dwindled in unbelief because of
the iniquity of their fathers, whom
the Lord has suffered to destroy their
brethren, the Nephites, because of
their iniquities and their abomina-
tions;

'And for this very purpose are these
plates preserved, which contain these
records, that the promises of the
Lord might be fulfilled which He made
to His people." (Doc. and Cov. Sec.
3:16-19.)

This also was revealed to us be-
fore the organization of the Church,
so this great mission is upon us.
The Lord expects us to perform it,
and He will hold us responsible if
we shall fail. And that is but a
small part of our mission. Scat-
tered among the nations of the earth
are the house of Judah, the chosen
people of the Lord. How long shall
they continue, how long shall they
suffer, how long shall they be a hiss
and a by-word among the nations
of the earth, because of transgres-
sions of their fathers? This Book of
Mormon, thank the Lord, gives them
hope also, and I cry to the Lord
that He will prepare their hearts,
for the Redeemer testifies here
that when these things come forth
the Jews shall begin to believe, they
shall begin to turn to Christ and
recognize Him as their 'Redeemer,
the Messiah. Just as certainly as
they have been scattered, so will
the Lord gather them together
again, and restore to them the lands
of their possessions, and they shall
forever serve Him and honor Him
as their fathers did in the begin-
ning; and they must come through
the efforts of the Latter-day Saints.

So I say, brethren and sisters,
there is plenty to do; we are not to
be at ease in Zion ; we are not to
say that the work of the Lord has
been accomplished, and that there
is nothing more to do, and those

are the very things which the
prophet, in this Book of Mormon,
warns us against, and says that
some of us will say; but we must
continue to work. These are the
things that I see in the future, that
are abroad ; and as we preach the
Gospel abroad so is it our duty to
provide for, and assist, as we have
hitherto done, those of our brethren
and sisters who gather up to Zion
from the nations of the earth, that
they, like us, may become inde-
pendent men and women. If there
was nothing else in the history of
the Church but that one fact, tens
of thousands of people taken from
the sweat houses of Europe, where
they or their children never could
have become independent men and
women, have been brought here,
planted upon this promised land,
where they could become a part of
it, owning it, claiming it as their
own, under the permission of God
our Father, by whom we hold all
things, and have become independ-
ent, loyal citizens of this good gov-
ernment of ours. That work must
continue. We cannot abandon it.
So it seems to me that notwithstand-
ing the magnitude of the work
which was before the Church at the
time of its inception, there is a
greater field before us today than
there ever has been before in its his-
tory.

There are other things for us to
do, for our loyalty is not to the
Church alone. We are here, we say,
under the best government in the
world and I believe it, and thank the
Lord for it, a government, we say,
which was established under the in-
spiration of the Lord Himself, and
I believe it ; we are citizens of that
government. I never have been able
to conceive that it is possible for me
to be an acceptable member of the

114

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

Church in the sight of God, my
Father, except that I am a devoted
supporter of my country and its in-
stitutions, honoring, obeying, and
sustaining its laws, and just as I
labor for the spread of the truth,
just as I seek to bring people to a
knowledge of it, so is it my duty
to labor for the establishment of
righteous government in the land in
which I live. The Church and the
State are so intimately associated
that in my mind I cannot separate
them, for I believe that without the
State the Church could accomplish
little, and that without the influence
of religion, those restraining influ-
ences which come through faith in
God, and acknowledgement of our
Redeemer as the Savior of the
world, it is at least an excedingly
difficult thing that good government
may be established and maintained
in the world. So T must labor for
better citizenship. Isn't that true?
Justice, temperance, and truth are
the fundamental doctrines of all
good government : and if I see those
doctrines threatened, is it not my
duty to oppose their enemies? It
seems to me that it is. Pageants
may parade the streets, artists and
poets may immortalize freedom on
canvass and in verse, but unless the
things that we do are in harmony
with that which we say. "it is like
sounding brass of a tinkling cym-
bal." And so I say that so long as
there are in this great nation of ours
men and women who cry for bread,
who seek employment in vain, while
others indulge in the extravagant
accumulation and use of wealth : so
long as our prisons are filled with
men and women who defy the law,
and those rules which are estab-
lished for the security of society; so
long as men in this free govern-
ment shall deliberately ignore and

defeat the will of the people whom
they pretend to represent ; so long
as there shall remain in this land of
ours a single house of assignation,
where the souls and bodies of wo-
men are bartered for gold ; so long
as there shall remain upon the op-
posite sides of the streets from
where houses of prayer are built,
chapels of the devil, which, with
open doors beckon your sons and
invite them in, that they may be-
come drunken and corrupted, their
bodies and souls endangered ; — I
say, so long as these conditions con-
tinue there is work to do, for every
man and woman who has taken up-
on him or her the name of the Re-
deemer. I do not wish to be re-
garded as an agitator, I do not wish
to be regarded as an extremist ; but
my brethren and sisters, if I see
these things as I move about among
the cities of this country, is it my
duty to be silent, or is it my duty,
as a professed teacher of righteous-
ness, to call attention to them, in
order that they may be corrected?
When men sell their votes by thou-
sands, and ambitious men buy them
in order that they may be magnified
before the people ; and attain to
those places of trust where your
very lives and liberties are at stake,
as occurred in the last election in
one of the greatest states of this re-
public, it seems to me that there is
something to do; and if I see these
forces which are making as surely
for the disintegration of this gov-
ernment as they ever made for the
disintegration of governments that
have existed before it. \ cannot re-
strain the feeling which I have that
it is my duty to call attention to
them, not to complain, but in the
hope that seeing them we may re-
form.

Just the other day a ship struck

ELDER ANTHONY W. IVINS.

115

upon a rock, an uncharted reef, off
the coast of California, and was
wrecked. No one knew the rock
was there before, but the captain of
the vessel knows it now ; he knew
when he struck it. Would it be
proper for him to go away and say,
"That hidden rock is there, but
never mind, I won't say anything
about it, I will just let somebody
else come along and run their ship
onto it, and be wrecked as I have
been?" No, he puts it on the chart,
so that the next mariner who comes
knows that he must avoid that spot.

So, my brethren and sisters, if
you will read the word of the Lord,
if you will be admonished by the
prophecies contained in these books,
if you will study the history of the
nations that have lived before you,
you will know that there is just one
thing that makes for security, and
that thing is righteousness and truth
in the Church, in the State, in busi-
ness, and in the life of every indi-
vidual who pretends to serve his
people, or to serve the Lord. That
is all that I wanted to urge, just
that there be righteousness, that
there be integrity, that there be
honesty. When I see the great
work which is before us, and con-
trast it with the past, I feel like
buckling up my belt one hole
shorter, as the Indian does when he
lacks a meal, and going on with the
fight. The battle with sin is real.
Don't deceive yourselves by think-
ing that the devil is dead. He is
very much alive ; he knows the
truth, he fears it, he trembles but
he will never obey it until he is
bound with chains and put where
he belongs. And there are thou-
sands of men in this country who
are just as unconvertible as Lucifier
himself, because they are his agents ;

I would that they could all be con-
verted to the Gospel of Christ; but'
if that is impossible then I regard
it to be my duty, as a citizen of this
country, to see to it that just and
merciful laws be enacted, so that if
a man refuses to yield to reason, if
he refuses to be converted to the
truth, he may be restrained by force
and put where he belongs, that he
cease to be a menace to his fellow
citizens.

The Lord bless you, my brethren
and sisters, guide us in the right
way. Oh, how precious is the
Spirit of God our Father, that leads
us unto all truth ! I pray for it ; I
need it myself every moment ; you
need it. If you are guided by it
you never will go astray, but you
will feel as I do that in this fight
with sin you had better die in the
trenches, for that is where we all
are, we are right in the trenches, in
the first ranks ; better die there, as
those Belgians died, than that we
compromise with the devil to obtain
peace, for he never keeps any con-
tract that he makes, he never did, he
never will, and if you accede to him
one iota, you are like the fly that
goes into the web of the spider, you
become so entangled that you never
can escape, and there you die. God
help us carry on this magnificent
work until His purposes are ac-
complished, until the destiny of the
Church is fulfilled, until the state is
purified and we prepared, both re-
ligiously and civilly, for the king-
dom and coming of the Lord, that
His will may be done on earth as it
is in heaven, I pray through Jesus
Christ. Amen.

Elder Melvin Ballard sang a
hymn entitled, "Come near me, O
my Savior."

116

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

ELDER GEORGE F. RICHARDS.

Faithful continuance in righteous liv-
ing essential to salvation — Obedi-
ence to the law of tithing enjoined —
— Need for missionary work among
the Saints at home.

"If in this life only we have hope
in Christ, we are of all men most
miserable." So said the Apostle
Paul in his Epistle to the Corinthi-
ans. The Latter-day Saints have
hope in Christ beyond this life; yea
an assurance that through Him we
wilf live again ; that is to say, we
will be resurrected after death, as
He was resurrected ; and not only
this, but we have hope in Christ and
an assurance that we will be saved
and exalted through Him, by keep-
ing His laws and commandments.
I think the Latter-day Saints under-
stand, too, for they have been well
taught, that this does not mean
merely the accepting of the first
principles and ordinances of the
Gospel, but that we be true and
faithful in keeping all of the com-
mandments, obeying all of the laws,
and that we continue, faithful unto
the end. We preach the Gospel in
the world, and tell the people that
something more than faith is neces-
sary to salvation, His command-
ments must be obeyed. T have
thought that we have need, my
brethren and sisters, of being taught
at home that faith alone is not all
that is necessary to salvation, there
are so many of our people who seem
to be satisfied with only their faith,
and the acceptance of the first prin-
ciples and ordinances of the Gospel.
There are many, who have never
had sufficient faith to live the laws
of the Lord, making them worthy to
go up to the temple and receive the
higher ordinances and greater bless-
ings which are in store for the faith-
ful.

One of the laws which the Lord
has given us, and which is neces-
sary for the salvation of His chil-
dren and for the welfare of His
work, is the law of tithing. There
are many thousands of Latter-day
Saints who have been true and
faithful in observing this law, who
pay their tithing regularly, faith-
fully and fully. There are others,
counted by the thousands — twenty-
two thousand, to be more definite,
in the Church, who have had means
which should have been tithed, and
they have not paid a cent of tithing
during the past year. They have
been moving along, recognized as
members of the Church, but they are
not doing their full duty. They are
wanting in faith to do the works
which are necessary to salvation. It
is our hope in Christ that we will-
obtain salvation and eternal life by
doing these things which He has
commanded us to do, things which
are right for us to do. Who will
say that it is not right for every
member of the Church, according to
his financial strength, to aid in the
building up of the kingdom with his
finances ; and is not that what the
Lord has required in this law? He
does not ask one to do that which
he cannot do. There is no one
asked to pay a dollar's tithing until
he has received ten dollars ; or ten
cents tithing until he has received a
dollar to be tithed. If we would
pay our tithing as we receive our
income, or interest, we would al-
ways have something to pay as tith-
ing. Who will pretend to say that
it is not a just law? If this kingdom
were on wheels, and it were possible
for the Latter-day Saints to roll it
forth by pushing and pulling, would
we expect of the physically weak
man or woman to push or pull as
much as the one who is physically

ELDER GEORGE F. RICHARDS.

117

strong? Why, certainly not. A lit-
tle child ought to comprehend that
principle. Of course, where much
is given much is expected.

I would ask you, brethren and sis-
ters of the Church, if a person, being
a member of any organization which
is effected for the common good of
its members, is considered a good
member of that organization, if he
will not do his part in carrying it
on? If finances are necessary he
will be expected to do his part in a
financial way. What of those who
would reap the benefits of the or-
ganization, and refuse to do their
part in maintaining it? I say, the
law of tithing is a just, and right-
eous law of God, it is our Father's
provision for the carrying on of His
work, in large measure, and His
distribution of the financial respon-
sibility of it, among His sons and
daughters who have covenanted to
obey Him. Now, since we .have
twenty-two thousand men and wo-
men who have means which should
be tithed, and who refuse to pay
their tithing, and who otherwise
manifest their religious indifference,
we have need of work at home as
well as abroad.

There are two great arms, at
least, to this work, and the responsi-
bility which rests upon us as Latter-
day Saints, is the preaching of the
Gospel to the nations of the earth,
and the preaching of the Gospel to
the people at home. The Lord said
to His Prophet Ezekiel :

"I have made thee a watchman unto
the house of Israel," as we elders are
watchmen. "When a righteous man
turns from his righteousness and com-
mit iniquity,and I lay a stumbling block
before him, he shall die; because thou
hast not given him warning.he shall die
in his sin and his righteousness which
he hath done shall not be remembered;
but his blood will I require at thine

hand. Nevertheless if thou warn
the righteous man that the righteous
sin not and he does not sin, he shall
surely live, because he is warned; also
thou hast delivered thy soul." (Ezek.
3:20, 21.)

There are men and women who
have at some time repented of their
sins, who made a good beginning, in
this work, in embracing the Gospel,
who have departed from their
righteous ways, and are going into
spiritual darkness, and it is for us to
care properly for these people. I
am asked, by stake presidents, when
I go into their stakes, "What can
we do to get these, our brethren and
sisters whose names are on the non-
tithe payers' list, to pay their tith-
ing?" I have had to say, "I sup-
pose that they are not able to take
meat ; they need milk ; we will have
to begin over again and convert
them by preaching to them the first
principles of the Gospel, and, when
they get sufficient faith, then we
may hope that they will live this and
other laws."

The non-observance of this prin-
ciple of tithing is only one of the in-
dications that there is need of con-
stant labor at home in the stakes
and wards of Zion. For instance,
according to the reports which we
have, there are in the stakes of the
Church, a population of 372,000,
and according to the statistics, only
about fifty per cent of these men,
women and children attend a re-
ligious meeting upon the Sabbath
day, including the Sunday School.
Where are the 186,000 every Sab-
bath day, who ought to be worship-
ing the Lord? Isn't there some-
thing for us to do? Of the 92,000
male members who hold the Priest-
hood in this Church, we are told
that 29,000 of them are inactive;
that 27,000 of them, during the year

118

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

1914, did not attend a single
quorum meeting. Is there not
something for us to do?

The hope we have in Christ, my
brethren and sisters, is that we will
obtain salvation, not by neglecting
these duties, not by disregarding the
commandments of the Lord, but by
being true and faithful in keeping
them all, and in laboring for the sal-
vation of others. I feel that it is
true religion and undefiled that we
minister to the souls of men, for
their salvation, at home as well as
abroad, and in this ministry we
establish ourselves in the faith, and
anchor our souls in salvation.

The Lord bless these hundreds
and thousands of faithful workers
in the Church, that they may be un-
tiring, and the Lord bless those who
are wanting in faith, and help them
to keep His commandments, con-
tinuing faithful unto the end, that
they may receive salvation through
Christ, our Savior, I pray. Amen.

ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH, JR.

A summary of belief in doctrines of
the Gospel — Temple ordinances es-
sential to exaltation, for living and
dead — Duty of Church members to
love one another, and help all man-
kind.

It is always a pleasure to me to
hear the Gospel preached, and to
listen to the testimonies of the elders
of Israel, for I accept the Gospel of
Jesus Christ in its fulness as it has
been revealed in these latter days.
I believe absolutely in the great
atonement of the Son of God. I
accept Him as the only begotten Son
of the Father, who came into the
world to atone for sin and to give to
the world life, that \vc might have it
more abundantly. I believe in the

Gospel of the resurrection of the
dead, and that all men shall come
forth from the grave in a literal
resurrection, a uniting of body and
spirit, never more to be separated.
I believe that the just will be ex-
alted to thrones and powers and
principalities in the kingdom of
God, and that every man shall re-
ceive a reward according to his
works. I believe in the doctrine of
repentance from sin ; that it is nec-
essary for all men to repent. I ac-
cept the doctrine of baptism for the
remission of sins, by immersion in
water, the ordinance being perform-
ed by one having authority to ad-
minister in the name of the Lord.
I believe in the doctrine of laying
on of hands for the gift of the Holy
Ghost, by which we are brought into
communion with our Father in
heaven and learn of His ways, that
we may walk in His paths. I firmly
believe in the doctrine of revelation
and inspiration ; the privilege of man
to communicate, under proper con-
ditions and circumstances, with the
Lord. I believe in the principle of
prayer, and that no man can come
unto God without he has in his heart
the spirit of prayer., by which he
communicates with the Father. I
believe in the salvation of the hu-
man family, and that it is the inten-
tion and desire of the Lord to save
all His children, with the exception
of a very few who will not be saved,
who reject salvation against them-
selves because of their utter wicked-
ness and sinning against the light.
I believe the Gospel is universal,
and it is not merely for the handful
of people known as Latter-day
Saints, but that the Lord desires to
save all men, and eventually will
save all through their acceptance of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ and obe-
dience to His laws, with the cxcep-

ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH, JR.

tion, as stated, of the few who re-
ject salvation against themselves. I
do not believe that a man is saved
in this iife by believing, or profess-
ing to believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, but that he must endure to
the end and keep the commandments
that are given. It is a principle of
the Gospel that those who do not
hear the plan of salvation here will
have the privilege in the spirit
world, and being judged, as Peter
said, according to men in the flesh,
through their repentance may live
according to God in the spirit, and
that all mankind will be ferreted out
in this life or in the spirit world, and
will have the Gospel preached to
them. The time will come when
every knee shall bow and every
tongue confess that Jesus is the
Christ.

I thank the Lord for our temples,
where we may go and receive bless-
ings and Priesthood and power that
are necessary for us to receive in
order to gain exaltation in the king-
dom of God. Where we may also
go and have the privilege of work-
ing for the salvation of the dead,
that they too may receive the truth
and be redeemed and accept the
Gospel, just as we do now in the
flesh. I am thankful to the Lord
for the knowledge of the eternity of
the marriage covenant, which gives
the husband the right to claim his
wife, and the wife the right to claim
her husband in the world to come,
providing they have gone to the
House of the Lord and been united
for time and all eternity by one hold-
ing this sealing power, for in no
other way can this great blessing be
obtained. I am also thankful for the
knowledge that the family relation,
and the unity of the family, shall
continue, where properlv organized,
in righteousness in the life to come.

I believe in all these doctrines that
have been presented by the various
speakers at this conference. I ac-
cept them all, and rejoice to know
that they have been revealed in truth
and power, in this dispensation of
the fulness of times. I pray that
we as Latter-day Saints, may be
united in every particular for our
welfare, and see eye to eye in all
these principles of truth, and stand
together for the advancement of the
Gospel throughout the world. I
trust that all these things find an
abiding place in our hearts, that we
may in very deed stand in the
trenches, or in the front ranks of the
battle against sin, with united pur-
pose.

I believe it is our solemn duty to
love one another, to believe in each
other, to have faith in each other,
that it is our duty to overlook the
faults and the failings of each other,
and not to magnify them in our own
eyes nor before the eyes of the
world. There should be no fault-
finding, no back-biting, no evil
speaking, one against another, in the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints. We should be true to
each other and to every principle of
our religion and not be envious one
of another. We should not be jeal-
ous one of another, nor angry with
each other, and there should not
arise in our hearts a feeling that we
will not forgive one another our
trespasses. There should be no feel-
ing in the hearts of the children of
God of unforgiveness against any
man, no matter who he may be. The
Lord has said — T think I will read it
— in one of the revelations, the fol-
lowing :

Wherefore I say unto you, that ye
ought to forgive one another, for he
that forgiveth not his brother his tres-
passes, standeth condemned before the

120

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

Lord, for there remaineth in him the
greater sin.

I the Lord will forgive whom I will
forgive, but of you it is required to
forgive all men;

And ye ought to say in your hearts,
let God judge between me and thee,
and reward thee according to thy
deeds.

And he that repenteth not of his
sins, and confesseth them not, then ye
shall bring him before the church, and
do with him as the scripture saith unto
you, either by commandment or by
revelation.

And this ye shall do that God may
be glorified, not because ye forgive
not, having not compassion, but that
ye may be justified in tlie eyes of the
law, that ye may not offend him who
is your Lawgiver.

I believe in that doctrine. We
ought not to harbor feelings one
against another, but have a feeling
of forgiveness and of brotherly love
and sisterly love, one for another.
Let each one of us remember his or
her own individual failings and
weaknesses and endeavor to correct
them. We have not reached a con-
dition of perfection yet. it is hardly
to be expected that we will in this
life, and yet, through the aid of the
Holy Ghost, it is possible for us to
stand united together seeing eye to
eye and overcoming our sins and im-
perfections. If we will do this, re-
specting all the commandments of
the Lord, we shall be a power in the
world for good ; we shall overwhelm
and overcome all evil, all opposition
to the truth, and bring to pass right-
eousness upon the face of the earth.
For the Gospel will be spread and
the people in the world will feel the
influence which will be shed forth
from the people of Zion. and they
will be inclined more to repent of
their sins and to receive the truth.

There is no place in Zion for the
wilful sinner. There is a place for
the repentant sinner, for the man

who turns away from iniquitv and
seeks for life eternal and the' light
of the Gospel. We should not look
upon sin with the least degree of
allowance, any more than the Lord
can do so, but walk uprightly and
perfectly before the Lord. It is our
duty to look after each other, to
protect each other, to warn each
other of dangers, to teach each other
the principles of the Gospel of the
kingdom, and to stand together with
a united front against the sins of
the world.

I pray that we will do so, that we
will go from this conference with a
determination in our hearts to con-
tinue our labors more diligently, to
stand more unitedly for the truth in
every degree and particular; that
the Lord may pour out His Spirit
upon us, and bless us abundantly,
which He will undoubtedly do, if we
will observe His laws, and keep His
commandments and the covenants
we have made with Him to serve
Him.

This I pray, with every other
blessing that will be for oiir good,
in the name of the Lord lesus
Christ. Amen.

ELDER JAMES E. TALMAGE.

Knowledge concerning God's attributes
essential to intelligent worship— The
relationship of Jesus Christ to God the
Eternal Father, spiritually and bodily
— Relationship of mankind to Deity.

In common with my brethren and
sisters who make up these assembled
thousands of modern Israel, I have
been fed with good food and made
glad in each meeting of this confer-
ence. I have felt that the Spirit of
the Lord has been present with us

ELDER JAMES E.TALM AGE.

121

in great abundance. We have heard
much concerning our temporal
duties, and much relating to our
spiritual welfare. It has been made
plain unto us that these two classes
of things differ in degree rather
that in kind, and that we cannot
serve God acceptably by devoting
ourselves wholly to scripture study,
for there are many things pertain-
ing to temporalities which enter into
our duties and our appointed ex-
periences here upon the earth. On
the other hand, we have been as-
sured, not for the first time, by any
means, that we cannot please the
Lord by wholly devoting ourselves
to temporal affairs, to the exclusion
of the consideration of the great
spiritual principles and truths that
have been given us.

We belong to the Church of Jesus
Christ, and much has been said con-
cerning His proprietorship, His
mastership, in the Church, the
Church that bears His name. I
take it to be a plain and simple prin-
ciple that we cannot worship intelli-
gently, and therefore acceptably
unto the Lord, unless we know
something of the attributes and of
the will of Him whom we profess
to worship. The relationship of
the Christ to the Eternal Father has
been set forth in such plainness that
I do not think any wayfaring man
amongst us can fail to understand.
We recognize in Jesus Christ the
Son of the Eternal Father, both in
spirit and in body. There is no
other meaning to attach to that ex-
pression, as used bv the Eternal
Father Himself— "Mine Only Be-
gotten Son." Christ combined
within His own person and nature
the attributes of His mortal mother,
and just as truly the attributes of
His immortal Sire. By that fixed
and inexorable law of nature, that

every living organism shall follow
after his kind, Jesus the Christ had
the power to die, for He was the off-
spring of a mortal woman ; and He
had the power to withstand death
indefinitely, for He was the son of
an immortal Father. This sim-
plicity of doctrine has shocked
many, but the truth is frequently
shocking just because of its sim-
plicity and consequent grandeur.
We must know something of the at-
tributes of the Eternal Father, that
we may the more fully comprehend
His relationship to His Only Begot-
ten Son.

Did not Christ declare again and
again that He possessed in His own
person such power over life that no
man could take His life from Him —
in plain words, that no one could
kill Him — until He would voluntar-
ily surrender Himself, and permit
mortal and infernal powers to pre-
vail for the time being? How could
it be otherwise for the Son of an
immortal Father, who inherited the
power to keep death in abevance?
Death could not touch Him until
He willed and permitted so. Did He
not say also, not once but many a
time, that He did what He had seen
His Father do ? Did He not declare
that He did only what He had seen
His Father do, or what His Father
had done? And did He not make
it plain that He was following in
the footsteps of His immortal
Father, the very Eternal Father to
whom we pray in the name of His
Son ? It necessarily follows that the
Eternal Father once passed through
experiences analogous to those
which His Son, the Lord Jesus,
afterward passed through, and
through which we are now passing.
The Eternal Father, therefore, is a
Being who has had experiences in-
cident to the mortal state. He is a

122

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

resurrected Being; He conquered
death ; and He gave power unto
His Son to conquer death, through
whom power shall be given unto the
Saints, yea, unto all who will accept
the boon of eternal life, to be re-
deemed from death.

On an early occasion in the earthly
ministry of Christ, when He first
met Nathanael, Jesus recognized in
the man at once an Israelite in
whom was no guile. In His con-
versation with Nathanael Jesus the
Christ called Himself for the first
time, as far as our scripture records
show, The Son of Man (John
1:51). Then, in an interview with
Nicodemus, that renowned teacher
in Israel and learned doctor of the
law, Jesus called Himself again The
Son of Man (John 3:13) ; and you
will find the same expression used
in the four gospels approximately
eighty times. Eliminating all par-
allel passages, or sayings that are
reported by more than one of the
writers, there are approximately
forty separate instances in which
Jesus Christ called Himself The
Son of Man ; but nowhere in the
four gospels do you find the title
used by any other than the Christ,
nor applied by the Christ to any
other than Himself.

It may be remarked, in passing,
that you will find a somewhat sim-
ilar expression used in the Old
Testament, in the form of ad-
dress ; and in these instances it is
plainly used in its literal and ordi-
nary or common meaning — the son
of a mortal man. It is so used ap-
proximately ninety times in the
Book of Ezekiel ; in each instance,
however, Jehovah applies it to His
prophet, addressing him as "Son of
man", as the context of the several
passages plainly shows, to impress

upon Ezekiel the fact that though
he was permitted to voice and write
the very words of Jehovah, he was
nevertheless but a man. So also in
the Book of Moses you will find that
Satan blasphemously assumed to
establish, or to make it appear that
there existed, a similar difference
between him and Moses, when he
said "Moses, son of man, worship
me". (Pearl of Great Price, Moses
1:12).

But the distinctive title "The Son
of Man" as applied to Jesus
Christ occurs only once in the Old
Testament. It is in the seventh
chapter of Daniel, wherein is given
an account of a wonderful manifes-
tation from God, in which Daniel
saw, in the vision of the night, the
scenes that shall take place in a time
yet future, when the Ancient of
Days, Adam, who is the patriarch
of the race, shall sit to judge his
posterity, and they shall come be-
fore him, or as Daniel saw it, they
came before him, in their order ; and
among them there came one like
unto The Son of Man who appeared
in the clouds of heaven : and when
He came all power and dominion
were given unto Him, and His
kingdom was declared to be an all-
embracing and an everlasting king-
dom. Thus is shown the superiority
of the Son of Man over the Ancient
of Days, or in other words, the su-
premacy of Jesus the Christ over
Adam, the patriarch of the race
(see Dan. 7:9-14).

Now, in the New Testament, out-
side the four gospels, you will find
the title "The Son of Man'' occur-
ring about three times, and in each
instance it is applied to the Christ,
in His then glorified state (see Acts
7 :56 ; Rev. 1 :13, and 14 :14) . When
Stephen stood before his unright-

ELDER JAMES E.TALMAGE.

123

eous judges, the heavens were
opened to him, and he could not
keep within his soul what he saw.
He said, "Behold I see The Son of
Man, standing on the right hand of
God" ; and for that testimony they
took Stephen out and stoned him,
as for the testimony of the Father
they had before crucified the Christ.

God has glorified His Son ; but
though the Son is glorified with the
glory of the Father, you can't
change the fact that He is the Son
of that Father, and that Father, the
Eternal Father, the Father of Jesus
Christ, the Father of His spirit and
the Father of His body, was once a
Man, and has progressed, not by any
favor but by the right of conquest
over sin, and over death, to His
present position of priesthood and
power, of Godship and Godliness,
as the Supreme Being whom we all
profess to worship. We are all
spirit sons and daughters of God ;
but Jesus Christ was and is The
Son of God in a superlative and dis-
tinctive sense, God the Eternal
Father being His Father both in
spirit and in flesh.

We believe in the more than im-
. perial status of the human race. We
believe that our spirits are the off-
spring of Deity, and we hold that
when Christ said to His apostles,
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as
your Father which is in heaven is
perfect," He was not talking of a
merely idealistic yet impossible
achievement ; but that on the con-
trary He meant that it was possible
for men to advance until they shall
become like unto the Gods in their
powers and in their attainments,
through righteousness.

According to the spirit of the re-
vealed word, perfection is rather

relative than absolute. Though a
man become perfect in his mortal
sphere of activity, he is by no means
perfect as gaged by the standard
prevailing in heaven. As the
Prophet Joseph said to the Church
in early days, so now says the
Church unto the world — if the heav-
ens could be rent, and you could see
the Eternal Father sitting upon His
throne, you would see Him like a
man in form. That the Eternal
Father has called Himself a Man is
plainly apparent in the testimony of
Enoch the Seer; and in the same
scripture Jesus Christ is designated
"The Son of Man" even, before the
time of the flood ; "For in the lan-
guage of Adam, Man of Holiness
is His name, and the name of His
Only Begotten is the Son of Man,
even Jesus Christ", (Moses 6:57;
compare 7:24, 47 and 54). In a
certain revelation to Enoch, the
Eternal Father thus spake : "Be-
hold, I am God ; Man of Holiness
is my name, Man of Counsel is my
name ; and Endless and Eternal is
my name, also." (Moses 7:35).
Thus does the light of modern rev-
elation illuminate the dark passages
of old.

The doctrine of the relationship
between God and men, as made
plain through the word of revela-
tion, is today as it was of old,
though in the light of later scrip-
ture we are enabled to read the
meaning more clearly. It is pro-
vided that we, the sons and daugh-
ters of God, may advance until we
become like unto our Eternal Father
and our Eternal Mother, in that we
may become perfect in our spheres
as they are in theirs. That grand
truth, taught by the Prophet Joseph,
and ridiculed for the time, has now
gripped the minds of the thinkers

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

and philosophers of the age. You
will find it hinted at and timidly
expressed in the writings of many
recent and learned publications in
the theological field. That great
truth is finding its way into the
literature of the world. It was
crystallized into what we may call
an aphorism, by President Lorenzo
Snow : "As man is God once was ;
as God is man may be". We know
that Christ is God, and that He lived
upon the earth as a Man. In the
sense in which Christ was perfect
in His sphere, we may become per-
fect in ours. We may progress, not
to become each one a savior of the
world in the particular sense in
which Christ was the Savior of the
world, but we may follow Him to
eternal glory, and to eternal life,
which may our Father grant, in the
name of Jesus. Amen.

The congregation sang the hymn :

Come, let us anew our journey pursue,

Roll round with the year,
And never stand still till the Master
appear,

His adorable will let us glady fulfill,
And our talents improve,
By the patience of hope and the labor
of love.

Benediction was pronounced by
Elder Duncan M. McAllister.

Conference adjourned until 2
p. m.

CLOSING SESSION.

In the Tabernacle, at 2 p. m.
President Joseph F. Smith called
the meeting to order.

The congregation sang. the hymn :

There is beauty all around,
When there's love at home;

There is joy in ev'ry sound,
When there's love at home.

Prayer was offered by Elder
Stephen L. Richards.

The congregation sang the hymn :

Praise to the man who communed with
Jehovah !•

Jesus anointed that Prophet and
Seer — ■

Blessed to open the last dispensation;
Kings shall extol him and nations
revere.

PREST. SEYMOUR B. YOUNG.

(President of First Council of Seventy.)

My brethren and sisters, I can but
express to you today the pleasure
that I have in being with you at this
great conference, and I have receiv-
ed additional pleasure in listening
to those who have spoken, and also
have found joy in the true ring of
the good spirit that actuated Presi-
dent Smith's remarks in the begin-
ning session of these services. I be-
lieve in the Gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ; I have faith in His
servants and in the Church. I be-
lieve in the Prophet Joseph Smith;
I believe in his sacred and important
ministry. I believe the message that
he received from the angel Moroni,
bringing to him that great record of
a portion of the house of Israel,
whose remnants are today inhabi-
tants of this American continent and
the islands of the Pacific.

I rejoice in the testimony of the
Gospel that I have received. Like
yourselves, my brethren and sisters,
I «was born of goodly parents. I
have heard from the lips of my
father and mother, testimonies of
the truth of this great work, from
the earliest time that I can remem-
ber. I imbibed the principles and

PRESIDENT SEYMOUR B. YOUNG.

125

faith of the Gospel from my mother,
From my first remembrance, I heard
her speak of this great work, with
the sublimest faith that a human
being can possess, and the same can
be truly said, as many of you know,
of my noble father. He taught his
children that Jesus was the Christ,
that He is the Son of God, that He
is the Savior of the world, the Re-
deemer of all the children of our
Heavenly Father ; and that Joseph
Smith was sent with a high commis-
sion to perform a great labor, to
reveal a knowledge of the resurrec-
tion and the eternal life of man, to
bring to light again the truth of the
everlasting Gospel that Jesus taught,
and that His apostles taught, and
that Paul alluded to when he said,
"Woe is me if I preach not this
Gospel for it is the power of God
unto salvation to all them that be-
lieve and obey."

I rejoice today when I remember
some of the things that I heard my
father speak of. He said that at one
time, during the early spring of
1834, the Prophet Joseph inter-
viewed himself and his brother
Brigham. The Prophet said to these
two brothers, Elder Brigham Young
and Elder Joseph Young, "I am
going to organize a company of men
to journey up to Missouri, to the
center stake of Zion, from whence
the Saints have been driven, and
robbed of their possessions, and I
want you two brethren to consent to
go with me. If you will go," he
said, "I promise you in the name of
the Lord that you shall go safely,
and return in safety to your fami:
lies." Of course, these faithful
brethren were never known to re-
fuse a call made upon them by the
Prophet, and they joined the gallant
company that accompanied the
Prophet Joseph and his brother Hy-

rum into the land of Missouri, with
two hundred and ten others. I am
glad of the testimonies I have heard
borne in regard to that great mis-
sion. At that time it was considered
opportune to bring relief to those
poor people, the Latter-day Saints,
who had been driven from their
homes in that part of the state of
Missouri, Independence, Jackson
county. The Prophet invited men
who had some means, I heard my
father say, and history bears this
out, men that could command some
resources, to go up to Zion, as it was
called then, and redeem, by pur-
chase, that portion of the land from
which the Saints had been driven.
When they arrived in the state of
Missouri, and crossed the Fishing
River, opposite Independence, a
'great storm arose, and this was
thought to be very providential. Lit-
tle Fishing River, and Big Fishing
River, rose thirty or forty feet in
one night, so some of the mob testi-
fied, and this proved a protection to
the little band of brethren who went
up in Zion's camp.

While there encamped, there was
dissatisfaction among some of the
members of the camp, some of them
felt to rebel against the require-
ments made upon them by the
Prophet. One evening some of them
were stricken down with a terrible
disease known as the Asiatic cholera
— I do not know as the brethren rec-
ognized at that time that that was
the nature of the disease. Fourteen
of that little band of brethren died
within three days, with that terrible
scourge. It is written in history
that the Prophet Joseph and his
brother Hyrum, by request of some
of the afflicted ones, laid their hands
upon the brethren who were sick
and tried to rebuke the disease, but
the disease laid hold upon these two

126

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

great men to that degree that they
were thrown to the ground in terri-
ble convulsions. As they lay to-
gether writhing in pain, they seized
each other by the hand and strug-
gled to their knees, holding fast to
each other's hands, with a vow in
their hearts that they would not
arise from their kneeling position
until they had a testimony from God
that they would be restored. After
praying for some time, the Prophet
records, lifting their hearts to God,
pleading with Him with all the
strength that they could muster,
Hyrum Smith rose to his feet and
began to shout "Hosanna to God
and the Lamb forever, for," said he
to his brother Joseph, "I have had a
vision, I have seen our dear old
mother kneeling in the orchard
praying for her bovs, and T have had
a testimony from God that her pray-
ers will be heard, and that we shall
once more see her in life." Joseph,
the Prophet, immediately arose from
his knees and ioined in praise and
halleluiah to God, for he too felt
renewed strength and power from
the intercession of her faithful
prayers, and exclaimed, "God bless
our dear old mother ; how often has
she brought us from the depths of
despair, sickness, pain and suffering
through her devotion and pravers."

I am glad that this testimony has
come to me. from my father, and
also from the history of the Church.
The Prophet and his brother felt the
blessed result of that good mother's
prayer, and testified of her devoted
love for her sons. Tt is in keeping
with the mothers in this Church, the
mothers of these boys and girls who
are seated in this great congrega-
tion. I do not mean particularlv of
any age, but of all ages. All of us,
my brethren and sisters, have real-
ized how the faith and prayers of

our dear mothers and fathers have
prevailed, time and time again, with
the Lord of heaven in our behalf.

I am glad today that I can testify
of the truth of the Gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ; it is indeed the
power of God unto salvation. To-
day, instead of having enemies in
Independence, Jackson county, Mis-
souri, Brother Bennion informs me
there are many friends there who do
not belong to our faith. There were
very many people in that country
that were not our friends, at the
time of the gathering of our people
there, and of their settlement in that
county ; they far outnumbered us
and were our bitter foes. Today
they are friendly to our people; and
T am glad that this is so. I am glad
that our people have the opportunity
once more of standing upon those
sacred places that were designated
by the Prophet Joseph Smith to be
prominent cities, dwelling places for
the Latter-day Saints some time in
the future. We have a mission es-
tablished there, a house of worship,
and able missionaries under the
president of that mission proclaming
the Gospel on the very land from
which the Saints were driven in
olden time. "In olden times" I do
not mean ages or centuries ago, but
during the history that this people
have made in the last eighty-five
years.

Things have turned in our favor
in many places where we were at
one time very greatly in disfavor,
and I attribute this to the fact that
this is indeed a progressive work.
Tt is being taught by able mission-
aries to the people of this land, and
they are beginning to realize that
there is some good in "Mormon-
ism." The Lord is evidencing by
His power and blessings that they
are His people indeed. Many

ELDER BRIGHAM H. ROBERTS.

127

strangers have been willing to ad-
mit, although they have not had suf-
ficient testimony of the Gospel to
■embrace it, that there is much good
in "Mormonism," and that it has
brought to pass many good things.
It has gathered men and women
from every land and clime of the
civilized world ; all of the Christian
nations have contributed some of
their population to this great move-
ment, and their unification, their un-
ion of purpose, have testified that
they are being brought into unity
of faith, and speaking the same lan-
guage. Amalgamating together the
gathered of the nations that have
come to this place, I am reminded
of that Mr. Brown who was long
the bodyguard of Queen Victoria.
He said to the beautiful Danish
princess, whom the Prince had
chosen for a wife, "In welcoming
thee all Danes are we." I think that
in welcoming the Latter-day Saints
to this land that has been prepared
for their gathering, we can say we
are all one nation, one people, that
we are one in purpose of heart, that
we are worshiping one God, and
that we have one faith, one baptism,
one Lord.

My brethren and sisters, I rejoice
today in this testimony. I can say,
in conclusion, when I look at this
work and its progress, and when I
realize the faith of our leaders, I
feel like repeating what Queen Eliz-
abeth said, when the Bishop of Can-
terbury placed the crown upon her
brow. "The Lord has done it and it
is marvelous in our eyes." Amen.

ELDER BRIGHAM H. ROBERTS.

(Of the First Council of Seventy.)

In placing upon record a num-
ber of visions granted to him when
a prisoner upon the Isle of Patmos,

the beloved disciple of the Lord,
John, recorded this :

"I saw another angel fly in the midst
of heaven having the everlasting
Gospel to preach unto them that dwell
on the earth, and to every nation, and
kindred, and tongue and people,

"Saying with a loud voice, Fear God,
and give glory to Him; for the hour
of_His judgment is come: and worship
Him that made heaven and earth, and
the sea, and the fountains of waters."

Two very great things are implied
in that scripture. First of all it is
evident that "the hour of God's
judgment" we naturally think of as
in some way connected with a great
epoch in relation to the earth and
its history. "In the hour of God's
judgment," it would appear from
this scripture, men would be
without the Gospel, — every nation
and kindred and tongue and people,
—or else why should there be need
of the Lord sending an angel to re-
store that Gospel to the world in the
hour of His judgment, if it was al-
ready on the earth. In the time of
His judgment, also, it appears that
every nation, kindred and tongue
and people would be worshiping
some other Deity than God who cre-
ated the heavens and the earth and
the seas and the fountains of water ;
or else why this call to all nations to
return to the worship of the true
and the living God, creator of
heaven and earth?

The other great thing that is im-
plied in this prophecy is the fact
that in the hour of God's judgment
He would restore the Gospel to the
earth by the ministration of an
angel.

Those two things, I think, stand
out strongly in this scripture, and
it is generally understood I think
in the Church that the dispensation
of the Gospel given unto us,

128

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

brought forth in our age by the
ministry of angels, is the fulfillment
of John's vision, although there be
some among the Latter-day Saints
who think that this passage has
nothing to do with the introduction
of the Gospel to the earth in our
day; and there was one man very
high in authority in the Church who
rather scoffed at the idea of the
elders using that passage of scrip-
ture as a prophecy of the coming
forth of the work of the Lord in
these days. Yet the matter is de-
cidedly settled by a revelation in the
Doctrine and Covenants that is call-
ed the "Appendix." By the way, our
treatment of that revelation as to its
placement in the Book of Doctrine
and Covenants perhaps is a little
misleading ; it was a revelation given
on the 3rd of November, 1831, and
was then called the "Appendix" to
a little collection of the revelations
that had been given to the Prophet
up to November, 1831 ; and this rev-
elation is the "Appendix" to that
little collection rather than to the
whole Book of Revelations in the
Doctrine and Covenants ; but be-
cause it was called an "Appendix"
to that little collection, we have kept
moving it back, in the book
in succeeding editions, and admit-
ting the subsequent revelations,
still calling that the "Appen-
dix ;" but as a matter of fact it
was the "Appendix" only to the
first collection of revelations that
was made and that was intended to
be published, and was partly pub-
lished, in the city of Independence,
in 1833. In this revelation occurs
this passage :

"For, behold, the Lord God hath
sent forth the angel crying through
the midst of heaven, saying, Prepare
ye the way of the Lord, and make His

paths straight, for the hour of His
coming is nigh."

And again:

"Now, verily saith the Lord, that
these things might be known among
you, O inhabitants of the earth, I have
sent forth mine angel" —

This is in 1831, be it remem-
bered—

"flying through the midst of heaven,
having the everlasting Gospel, who
hath appeared unto some, and hath
committed it unto man, who shall ap-
pear unto many that dwell on the
earth;

"And this Gospel shall be preached
unto every nation, and kindred, and
tongue and, people,

"And the servants of God shall go
forth, saying, with a loud voice, Fear
God and give glory to Him, for the
hour of His judgment is come:

"And worshp Him that made the
heavens and the earth and the sea, and
the fountains of waters."

The language of this modern
revelation describing the fulfillment
of St. John's vision is so nearly
identical with that of the Book of
Revelation that I think there can be
no mistake about it, vist that this
dispensation of the Gospel com-
mitted unto us is the fulfillment of
John's great vision. And now, that
being true, behold what burden, joy-
ful burden however, is laid upon the
Church of Christ! For with the
acceptance of this dispensation of
the Gospel, and the organization of
the Church as the means of pro-
claiming that Gospel to the world,
comes the duty of preaching that
Gospel to every nation and kindred
and tongue and people. The
Church has two great functions to
perform, that is to say, you can
generalize her responsibilities and
her duties to the world under two

ELDER BRIGHAM H. ROBERTS.

129

general heads, namely, the procla-
mation of the truth which God has
deposited with her, to all the in-
habitants of the earth ; and the other
great duty of the Church is to per-
fect the lives of those who accept
those truths. Upon those two things
hang all the law and all the proph-
ets, so to speak.

I merely wish to call your atten-
tion to one part of that great mis-
sion, and that is the responsibility
of making proclamation of the truth
which God has restored to the earth,
and deposited with His Church.
That burden rests upon the whole
Church of Christ ; not upon one sec-
tion of it. You may use, and we
are waking up to a realization of
the fact that it was evidently God's
intent that we should use, the
seventies of the Church as the means
for the proclamation of this Gospel.
Now you may use them as the
agency for this work, the principal
one, but the duty and the burden of
carrying out that part of the mission
of the Church rests upon the entire
body of the Church of Christ, and
not upon the seventies alone. We
are beginning to realize that in send-
ing forth this message to the world
we are doubtless using too many
young men of inexperience, of
scarcely matured minds ; young men
whose judgment has not yet settled
to full, manly judgment. In other
words we have perhaps overlooked
the admonition that the Prophet
gave upon this subject in the very
early history of the Church. For
instance, he says in a letter from the
elders in Kirtland to their brethren
abroad, in 1833 :

"Be careful about sending boys to
preach the Gospel to the world; if
they go, let them be accompanied by
someone who is able to guide them in
the proper channel, lest they become

puffed up and fall under condemnation,
and into the snare of the devil."

We find it necessary to return to
this counsel, or to be admonished by
it ; and while we may continue to call
young men, I hope we will, but at
the same time we find a crying need
for men of mature judgment, and of
comprehensive knowledge of the
great truths that we are to present
to the children of men. In passing
let me say that the Church has no
higher duty to perform than this
duty of teaching the Gospel. The
organization of the Church is such
that it proclaims to us, if we will
but contemplate it, how highly the
Lord regards the duty of Hi?
Church in making proclamation of
His message unto the inhabitants of
the earth, since He sets apart and
makes it the special duty of the
Twelve Apostles and of the great
body of the seventy — now ten thou-
sand strong — to perform that duty.
It is a labor worthy of the best man-
hood, and of the highest talent, in
the Church ; and is worthy of the
greatest sacrifices, in order to send
the message of God unto the in-
habitants of the earth. This Church
has prospered in proportion to her
zeal, and earnestness in fulfilling this
high duty that she owes both to God
and to the children of men. When
dark clouds gathered about the
Church in Kirtland, and it did seem
as if the powers of the nethermost
world were combined in an effort to
overthrow the Prophet and the work
that he was founding, a strange
thing happened. In a council meet-
ing of the priesthood the Prophet
arose and crossed the room and
went to Heber C. Kimball and told
him that the Spirit had whispered
to him that for the salvation of the
Church, it was necessary that the
Lord's servant, Heber C. Kimball,

130

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

cross the great waters and make
proclamation of the Gospel in Eng-
land. A strange way to save the
Church, was it not? And yet it had
that effect ; for from the introduc-
tion of the Gospel at that time in
England there began that great pro-
cession of new membership into the
Church, which so mightily strength-
ened it. They gave to it new life
and vigor and power in the world.
The new disciples took the place of
those who were disposed to fall
away.

Again you would naturally sup-
pose after the experiences in Mis-
souri, when the Latter-day Saints
who had gathered to that state were
as a people scattered and peeled, dis-
possessed of all their earthly pos-
sessions, and driven from the State
of Missouri, everybody in distress, in
sickness, and in poverty — you would
naturally suppose, I say. that nobody
would think of missionary work
then ; and yet. in the midst of those
trials, the word of the Lord came
to the Prophet directing that the
Twelve Apostles should take their
departure from the land of Zion,
from the public square in Far West,
and cross the waters and preach the
Gospel again in England : and so in
the midst of the moving from Mis-
souri and settling in Nauvoo, this
mission was undertaken ; and again
the work took a mighty stride for-
ward as the result of the mission of
the Apostles to those foreign lands.
Tens of thousands were brought
into the Church, and the means
essential to carrying on the work
of the Lord, came from that mission,
and strengthened the hands of the
brethren at Nauvoo. Tn each of
these crises, you see, the Church
turned to her great duty of making
nroclamation of the Gospel, with the
happiest results.

When our people were expatri-
ated from the United States and had
been wonderfully led through the
wilderness to these mountain val-
leys, with a great portion of the
Church still on wheels in the wilder-
ness, and in encampments along the
line of travel between these moun-
tains and the Missouri River, you
would naturally suppose that that
was a time when every man of
strength and wisdom and faith and
spiritual power would be needed in
Israel to locate the people in these
mountain valleys ; yet the prophet of
the Lord, then guiding the affairs of
Israel, in 1849 ,"at the"October Con-
ference of that year, before anvbody
was very well settled in the new
home, began a great foreign and do-
mestic missionary work — leading to
the founding of a number of foreign
missions that have continued to this
day.

Addison Pratt, a returned mis-
sionary from the South Pacific Is-
lands, since the Church had no tem-
ple at that time, was taken to the
summit of Ensign Peak and given
his endowments, that he might re-
turn to those islands of the sea in
which he had labored, with greater
spiritual power, and with his two
other companions go on with the
work that had been opened up in
those far away lands.

Elder Amasa M. Lyman and
Charles C. Rich, the latter a newly
ordained apostle of the Lord Jesus
Christ, were sent to the Pacific
Coast, to California, to gather up
those who had gone astray, and save
the scattered sheep of the house of
Israel.

Orson Pratt, in 1848, had been
sent to England, to preside in that
mission ; and at this wonderful con-
ference, of 1849, Franklin D. Rich-
ards, a newly ordained apostle, at

ELDER BRIGHAM H. ROBERTS.

131

the time, and a young man then, was
sent to join Elder Pratt in the Brit-
ish mission.

Elder Lorenzo Snow was called
to open the door of the Gospel in
Italy and in other lands of Europe
and India.

Erastus Snow was called at the
same time to open the door of the
Gospel to the Scandinavian nations.

Elder John Taylor was sent to
open the door of the Gospel to the
great empires of France and of Ger-
many. These brethren had mavel-
ous success, for God was with
them, in establishing periodicals in
the languages of the nations to
which they were sent ; also in trans-
lating some of the standard works
of the Church — the Book of Mor-
mon, the Doctrine and Covenants,
and other works. They made wide
proclamation of the Gospel in those
days, and founded the missions that
have continued until this present
time in those several lands. The
work under Elders Pratt and Rich-
ards, in England, had a wonderful
development. In the little less than
three years that Orson Pratt pre-
sided in that land, the "Millennial
Star" increased in its circulation
from three thousand seven hundred
to twenty-two thousand. In about
the same length of time, a little less
than three years, in the British
Isles, twenty-two thousand were
added to the Church of Christ, and
five thousand five hundred were
emigrated to the land of Zion. You
see how wonderfully God blesses
His Church when she pays full and
complete attention to this holy of-
fice of making proclamation of the
word of God to the inhabitants of
the earth. It is the source of
strength and life and progress to the
Church.

I am saying all this to you because

I believe, while we have not been
neglectful, I think, at any time, our
circumstances and conditions con-
sidered— we have not been neglect-
ful at any time in attention to this
great mission of ours ; and yet from
time to time there do come, appar-
ently, special openings, special op-
portunities, calling for increased
exertion upon our part, and, per-
haps, the making of what we call
sacrifices for this work. I believe
that the stage of the world is being
reset for increased opportunities for
us to make proclamation of this
message that has been committed
unto us ; that the nations are on the
way to that humiliation, to that con-
dition, when they will lend an ear
to what we have to say. Now my
point is this, that while they are in
preparation for the incoming of
conditions wherein they will be more
willing to listen to our message,
it is becoming in us that we
make preparation for the enlarged
opportunity that is promised for a
fruitful proclamation of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ again restored to the
earth.

In pursuance of these ideas we are
going among our seventies, and the
local authorities of the stakes and
wards are being asked to give more
attention to the seventies as the most
proper officers in the Church to fill
the call for missionary service
abroad. The mission service of the
Church needs men of judgment,
men of weight of character. There
is nothing truer in the psychology
of things, than this, that if you
would appeal to men of character,
men that are heads of families, men
that have mature thought, and are
earnest in fulfilling the purposes of
life, if you would reach those classes
— and they are the ones I take it that
we are anxious to reach, because

132

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

when we reach one of them we will
reach not a unit but a group, a
family, and they are the ones to
which we should make most earnest
appeal. Now, I say, if you want to
reach that class of men, then you
must send that class of men to them,
or you will not reach them — at least
so effectively, you will not reach
them. That is the kind of men we
want; and if it calls for sacrifice,
then let us make the necessary sac-
rifice, in wisdom of course, and
judgment.

There is just one other thing
connected with that important mat-
ter that I would like to call at-
tention to, although I am afraid I
am trespassing upon the time of
others, but it is this : the Lord of
heaven takes no pride in ignorance.
His whole purpose is to give out
intelligence and to save men through
knowledge of correct doctrine and
truth. He will take no pride in an
ignorant ministry. When a num-
ber of elders assembled in Kirtland
and were waiting for a conference
to be held before they should return
to. their fields of labor, they asked
the prophet what the Lord's will was
concerning them, and the Lord gave
this instruction :

"I give unto you a commandment,
that you shall teach one another the
doctrine of the kingdom;

"Teach ye diligently and my grace
shall attend you, that you ma-" be in-
structed more perfectly in theory, in-
principle, in doctrine, in the law of
the Gospel, in all things that pertain
unto the kingdom of God, that are
expedient for you to understand;

"Of things both in heaven and in
the earth, and under the earth; things
which have been, things which are,
things which must shortly come to
pass; things which are at home, things
which are abroad; the wars and the
perplexities of the nations, and the
judgments which are on the land, and

a knowledge also of countries and of
kingdoms."

And why? Here is represented a
very extensive field of knowledge.
It covers every possible field of
knowledge, why are the elders ad-
monished, and even commanded to
become acquainted with all these
things? The Lord answers that
question :

"That ye may be prepared in all
things when I shall send you again
to magnify the calling whereunto I
have called you, and the mission with
which I have commissioned you."

And again, in the same revela-
tion : "As all have not faith — " as
all are not able to attain unto knowl-
edge by faith — not all gifted tb
drink at the very fountain head —

"And as all have not faith, seek ye
diligently and teach one another words
of wisdom; yea, seek ve out of the best
books words of wisdom: seek learning
even by study, and also by faith."

That was the instruction of the
Lord to the elders who were con-
templating their mission to the
world, and that was what was re-
quired of them. Again, I say, since
the world's stage is being set for a
wider proclamation of the Gospel,
let me admonish the seventies,
among whom I stand, and with
whom I more especially labor, let
me say to them, to go to, now fill
your minds with knowledge and
also with faith, and let us draw to
ourselves that spiritual power which
comes from observing the laws of
the Gospel; that when the great
world's war shall cease, when its ter-
rors shall no longer appal the peo-
ple, and when they settle down to
sober contemplation of the eternal
verities, as they will, let us be

ELDER J. GOLDEN KIMBALL.

133

prepared to teach them the truth
as God has revealed it, and thus help
in the great period of reconstruction
that will come to the world, and that
will be absolutely necessary to the
world. That is my admonition to
you, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Elder Horace S. Ensign sang a
baritone solo, entitled, "Let us
Have Peace."

ELDER J. GOLDEN KIMBALL.

(Of the First Council of Seventy.)

Brother Smoot yesterday quoted
one of our articles of faith: "We
believe all that God has revealed."
I have been thinking about it; all
that God has revealed, as found in
the Bible, the Book of Mormon, the
Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl
of Great Price. When you think
of it 'for one moment it requires a
great big belief to believe all that
God does now reveal; "and we be-
lieve that He will, yet reveal many
great and important things pertain-
ing to the kingdom of God." It is
not very difficult for a Latter-day
Saint to believe all that has been re-
vealed. To me it is all true, but the
great trouble I am having is to make
it work. (Laughter). I have been
trying to crystallize what faith I
have — and I might say that I haven't
any to spare. Why not find out one
or two or six of these splendid
things that have been revealed and
see if we can include them in our
work?

After listening to Brother Rob-
erts I think I will have to put on
what they call the "soft pedals," be-
cause those things stir my soul. It
is my calling ; it is my appointment.
I feel it, and I sense it just as
much as Brother Roberts does; it
sounds to me like mobilizing, and I

think that is the meaning of all this
noise. 1 believe it will take time to
awaken and arouse all the Seventies.
We will have to get our choir to
sing, "Hark, listen to the trumpet-
ers !" I don't know but what it will
be necessary to have a martial band
and work up a little enthusiasm, and
play on the imagination of these
Seventies for a while ; it won't hurt
them. You need not be afraid of
getting them over excited. (Laugh-
ter). We are almost immune to
missionary work and the reason for
this is, we haven't been called upon
for a long time; only a very few
Seventies are filling foreign mis-
sions, at present.

The presiding bishop's office re-
port shows that there are over 11,-
000 Seventies. I wish they would
get busy and help us find about two
thousand of that number, because
they are not yet enrolled; I think
we have decreased that number since
last year. We have that great body
of priesthood, and I don't think any
one in this Church, not even the
General Authorities, realize more
than we do the condition, the finan-
cial condition that our brethren are
in. We find that it is because of
the building of homes, the purchas-
ing of land, and a great many other
difficulties that have come to them.
They have had sickness, and finan-
cial, disappointment. The First
Council have interviewed a great
many men and I can say for the
Seventies, as far as I am personally
concerned — and I have interviewed
just as many as any of the Council
has — that we have few cowards in
our band, but some of them have
"served tables" so long, and settled
difficulties, and been ward teachers,
and slept in good beds and remained
home, that it is just possible some of
them have cowardly thoughts ; and

134

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

the reason for this is, they have been
at home so long they have become
attached to their homes, and they
need weaning. (Laughter). It is
a very great responsibility.

I am going to ask you a few ques-
tions and then conclude my remarks.
I wonder if we Seventies know what
we want? I know my father
preached once, "that to want a
thing and you can't get it is hell."
Some people have never been able
to find out what they want. I have
learned that when my family want
anything they seem to want it
mighty bad, and I never have much
peace until I get it for them. Do
we see and understand what we
want? I now ask you in all solem-
nity, brethren — and you might as
well look the cannon in the mouth ;
as this is no Sunday School proposi-
tion when you talk about preaching
the Gospel — don't we know, haven't
we been? I know something about
it ; T have filled two missions. I
don't look like I would ever be able
to go again, but I am ready. I
hardly think I could pass a physical
examination, but my temperature is
all right, and my pulse is beating
regularly, and I am ready to face
the music. T have enough faith to
accept a call.

Do you want to "inherit eternal
life?" Every man answer for him-
self— no use trying to put the bur-
den on the Council of the Twelve
or the First Council of the Seventy.
Do you want to inherit eternal life?
Are you willing to pay the price?
Do you want to take up the cross
and follow vour Master, and inherit
eternal life? Remember the young
man — T wish I was as good as he
was ; he observed all the laws ; but
the Savior said : "One thing thou
lackest;" and what did He tell him?
Did He ask him if he was in debt?

no, he knew ; he knew how to settle
that matter at once. Sell whatso-
ever thou hast, and give to the poor,
and take up the cross and follow
Me, and thou shalt inherit eternal
life. And that is what the young
man thought he wanted, when he
asked the Master, "Good Master,
what shall I do that I may inherit
eternal life?" The young man re-
ceived his answer, and he went away
a good deal sicker than a lot of
these Seventies will be when we get
after them. He did not want eter-
nal life at the price ; he did not
have the faith.

Faith is a process ; faith consists
in hard work, and when you accept
a call for a mission, the desire must
be put in one's soul day after day.
You think it over and over, and then
go doggedly back to it and keep on
asking yourself, What is it I really
want? You will have an awful
time answering the question. If you
have found out what you want, then
ni)- advice to you is to get prepared
for it. I am willing to be one
among the number. I am willing to
sell what is necessary to pay my
debts. I would be pleased to pay
them. We will have to take care of
your farms, and plow your land, and
put in your grain and harvest your
crops : we will have to help the wife
with the children, and teach the boys
to work ; and then we will go out
and preach the Gospel, if you will
assist us. This is no fifty-cent
proposition. If you brethren can't
go — you rich men and you poor men
— then put up your money like men,
and we will do the work. Money
talks when it comes to missionary
work, as our families have to be
cared for. The Prophet Joseph
Smith taught the doctrine that these
Seventies were "not to serve tables,
and they were not to settle difficul-

ELDER RULON S. WELLS.

135

ties," but were to preach the Gospel
to the nations of the earth, and the
Twelve and Seventy have particu-
larly to depend upon their ministry
for their support and that of their
families ; and they have a right, by
virtue of their offices, to call upon
the Churches to assist them.

I have the spirit of the Seventy
calling, I feel it in my' hands ; I feel
its thrill all through my being, and
I propose to breathe it into every
Seventy that comes near me. So if
you don't like it, you better keep
away from me. I want eternal life.
I want salvation, and I desire to
breathe the same desire into my wife
and children, so that they will want
to partake o'f it, and be willing to
make some sacrifice. I want to
breathe it unto every Seventy that I
come in contact with, and then go
out into the world and see God's
children partake of eternal life and
salvation, the greatest of all gifts
that God can give to His children.
I want it. I know what I want, and
I begin to find out what it will cost.
The Lord bless you. Amen.

ELDER RULON S. WELLS.

(Of the First Council of Seventy.)

This congregation will be pretty
well impressed with the fact that
the first council of the Seventy are
in earnest about this missionary
work, and feel the responsibility
that has been placed upon the Sev-
enties relative to the carrying of the
Gospel to the world. I have re-
joiced exceedingly in the spirit of
this conference and in the words
that have been spoken, from the
opening address of President Smith
which filled my soul with delight, to
the last words that have been
spoken. It is true that the Lord
has instituted the office of a Seventy

for the express purpose of pro-
claiming the word of God to the
nations of the earth ; and in our la-
bors among our brethren we have
discovered this, that more than half
of them have already filled mis-
sions in the world, and, although
we now have comparatively few do-
ing missionary work out of the vast
army of the Seventy, there are,
however, many who are supporting
their sons now laboring as elders in
the missionary field — some of them
having two or three — the expense
of whom are being met by their
fathers, who are numbered among
the Seventy. So I don't think that
we ought to reproach our brethren
of the Seventy because of the few-
ness of their numbers now in the
field, for they have done valiant ser-
vice, and many of them have filled
one or two, and some of them three
missions abroad, and I glory in the
work which they have performed.

Our missionaries labor, it has
been said, without pay and without
compensation. It seems to me, how-
ever, that this is a very great mis-
take, to say that they are not com-
pensated for their work. It is my
faith and belief that all who labor
for Zion, her interests and welfare,
both at home and abroad, are the
best paid people in all the world.
Their names are upon the payroll,
and the Lord is their paymaster.

We read in the epistle of James,
in the New Testament, where atten-
tion is called to an ordinance of the
Church : "Is any sick among you ?
let him call for the elders of the
church, and let them pray over him,
anointing him with oil in the name
of the Lord ; and the prayer of faith
shall save the sick, and the Lord
shall raise him up ; and if he have
committed sins, they shall be for-
given him." How can that be?

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

Has this ordinance, the laying on of
hands for the healing of the sick,
anything to do with bringing about
the remission of sins? We know,
as Latter-day Saints, that the ordin-
ance of baptism has been instituted
in the Church for the express pur-
pose of bringing us the remission
of sins and that this ordinance of
laying on hands for the healing of
the sick is different from that. How
do you obtain remission of sins?
Through faith in God and repent-
ance from sin and being buried by
baptism for the remission of sins?
And what follows this remission of
sins, if our faith has been sincere
and if our repentance has been
genuine ? When we have been bur-
ied by baptism for the remission of
those sins, we come forth from
that watery grave sweet and clean,
even as a new-born babe, and then
only are we prepared to receive that
other ordinance, the laying on of
hands for the reception of the holy
Spirit; because the Spirit of God
can not dwell in an unclean tab-
ernacle. Our sins must first be
remitted. It follows, then, that
when we have had and do have the
Spirit of God, that our sins have
been forgiven. When men labor in
any calling, go out and administer
to the sick and enjoy the spirit of
their calling, they have the Spirit
of God, and their sins, of course,
have been remitted or they would
not have that Spirit. So with you,
my brethren of the Seventy, if you
will go and labor and magnify your
calling, proclaiming the word of
God and enjoying the spirit of
your mission, which is the Spirit of
God, your sins have been remitted
and you are forgiven, and the power
of God will be upon you. That is
your compensation that is God's
pay. Labor then for the salvation

of souls, and God will reward you.
Therefore, put your trust in Him
and receive your compensation, the
remission of your sins, the compan-
ionship of God's Spirit, which I
pray we may all do, in the name of
Jesus Christ. Amen.

AUTHORITIES SUSTAINED.

Elder Heber J. Grant presented
the names of the General Author-
ities of the Church, to be voted upon
by the assembly, as follows :

Joseph F. Smith, as Prophet, Seer
and Revelator and President of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints.

Anthon H. Lund, as First Coun-
selor in the First Presidency.

Charles W. Penrose, as Second
Counselor in the First Presidency.

Francis M. Lyman as President
of the Twelve Apostles.

As members of the Council of
Twelve. Apostles : Francis M. Ly-
man, Heber J. Grant, Rudger Claw-
son, Reed Smoot, Hyrum M. Smith,
George Albert Smith, George F.
Richards, Orson F. Whitney, David
O. McKay, Anthony W. Ivins,
Joseph F. Smith, Jr., and James E.
Talmage.

Hyrum G. Smith, as presiding
Patriarch of the Church.

The counselors in the First Presi-
dency, the Twelve Apostles and the
Presiding Patriarch, as Prophets,
Seers and Revelators.

First Seven Presidents of Seven-
ties; Seymour B. Young, Brigham
H. Roberts, Jonathan G. Kimball,
Rulon S. Wells, Joseph W. Mc-
Murrin, Charles H. Hart and, Levi
Edgar Young.

Charles W. Nibley, as Presiding
Bishop, with Orrin P. Miller and
David A. Smith, as his first and sec-
ond Counselors.

AUTHORITIES SUSTAINED.

137

Joseph F. Smith, as Trustee-in-
Trust for the body of religious wor-
shipers known as the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Anthon H. Lund, as Church His-
torian and General Church Re-
corder.

Andrew Jenson, Brigham H.
Roberts, Joseph F. Smith, Jr., and
August William Lund, assistant
Historians.

As members of the General
Church Board of Education : Jo-
seph F. Smith, Willard Young,
Anthon H. Lund, George H. Brim-
hall, Rudger Clawson, Charles W.
Penrose, Horace H. Cummings,
Orson F. Whitney and Francis M.
Lyman.

Arthur Winter, as Secretary and
Treasurer of the General Church
Board of Education.

Horace H. Cummings, General
Superintendent of Church Schools.

Board of Examiners for Church
Schools : Horace H. Cummings,
chairman : George H. Brimhall,
Willard Young and C. N. Jensen.

Auditing committee : William W.
Riter, Henry H. Rolapp, John C.
Cutler. Heber Scowcroft and Jo-
seph S. Wells.

Board of Trustees of the Brigham
Young University j Provo : Joseph
F. Smith, Jesse Knight, Wilson H.
Dusenberry. Reed Smoot, Willard
Young, Susie Young Gates, Richard
W. Young, Lafayette Holbrook,
Stephen L. Chipman, Jonathan S.
Page, jun., Joseph R. Murdock, and
Joseph F. Smith, jun.

Tabernacle choir : Evan Stephens,
conductor ; Horace S. Ensign, as-
sistant conductor; John J. McClel-
lan, organist; Edward P. Kimball
and Tracy Y. Cannon, assistant or-
ganists; George C. Smith, Secre-
tarary and Treasurer; John Drake-

ford librarian ; and all the members.

Duncan M. McAllister as Clerk
of the Conference.

Each and all of those named were
duly sustained in the positions des-
ignated, by unanimous vote of the
Conference.

PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.

CLOSING ADDRESS.

Knowledge of Gospel principles most
essential for missionary service —
Other missionary requisites, are,
love and humility— First Presidency
annoyed by unnecessary questions —
Indignant repudiation of false state-
ment concerning attitude on prohi-
biten— Saints advised to endeavor
to perfect their lives — Import nee
of teachers' duties— The Saints en-
joined to pray.

I want to read a passage of the
scripture which will apply not only
to the Seventies but to all the Saints :

"Wherefore, honest men, and wise
men should be sought for dligently.
and good men and wise men, ye should
observe to uphold; otherwise whatso-
ever is less than these cometh of evil.

"And I give unto you a command-
ment, that ye shall forsake all evil
and cleave unto all good, that ye shall
live by every word which proceedeth
forth out of the mouth of God;

"For He will give unto the faithful
line upon line, precept uoon precept;
and I will try you and prove you here-
with :

"And whoso layeth down his life in
my cause, for My name's sake, shall
find it again, even life eternal:

"Therefore be not afraid of your
enemies, for I have decreed in My
heart, sayeth the Lord, that I will
prove you in all things, whether you
will abide in My covenant, even unto
death, that you may be found worthy;

"For if ye will not abide in My
covenant, ye are not worthy of Me."

I think that this passage of scrip-

138

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

ture opens to us a vast field and
subject for thought and reflection,
for research, and careful attention.
I believe in all the words that have
been spoken by the Holy Prophets
concerning the dispensation of the
fulness of times and the establish-
ment of the kingdom of God in the
earth. I believe it is good to seek
knowledge out of the best books, to
learn the histories of nations, to be
able to comprehend the purposes of
God with reference to the nations of
the earth ; and I believe that one of
the most important things and per-
haps more important to us than
studying the history of the world, is
that we study and become thorough-
ly acquainted with the principles of
the Gospel, that they may be estab-
lished in our hearts and souls, above
all other things, to qualify us to go
out into the world to preach and
teach them. We may know all about
the philosophy of the ages and the
history of the nations of the earth ;
we may study the wisdom and
knowledge of man and get all the
information that we can acquire in
a lifetime of research and study, but
all of it put together will never
qualify any one to become a minis-
ter of the Gospel unless he has the
knowledge and spirit of the first
principles of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.

Another thing — one of the indis-
pensible qualifications of the Elders
who go out into the world to preach
is humility, meekness and love un-
feigned, for the well-being and the
salvation of the human family, and
the desire to establish peace and
righteousness in the earth among
men. We can not preach the gospel
of Christ without this spirit of hu-
mility, meekness, faith in God and
reliance upon His promises and
word to us. You may learn all the

wisdom of men, but that will not
qualify you to do these things like
the humble, guiding influence of
the Spirit of God will. "Pride goeth
before destruction, and an haughty
spirit before a fall."

It is necessary for the Elders who
go out into the world to preach to
study the spirit of the gospel, which
is the spirit of humility, the spirit of
meekness and of true devotion to
whatever purpose you set your hand
or your mind to do. If it is to
preach the gospel, we should devote
ourselves to the duties of that min-
istry, and we ought to strive with
the utmost of our ability to qualify
ourselves to perform that specific
labor, and the way to do it is to
live so that the Spirit of God will
have communion and be present
with us to direct us in every mo-
ment and hour of our ministry,
night and day. It is surprising to
hear the multitude of questions that
are continuously sent to the Presi-
dency of the Church, and to others
of my brethren who are in leading
positions, for information upon
some of the most simple things that
pertain to the Gospel. Hundreds
of questions, communications, and
letters are sent to us from time to
time asking information and in-
struction on matters that are so
plainly written in the revelations of
God — contained in the Book of
Mormon, the Doctrine and Cove-
nants, the Pearl of Great Price, and
the Bible — it seems that any one
who can read should understand.
Why Elders and Bishops and mis-
sionaries should be under the neces-
sity of writing to inquire about
many of these things is mysterious
to me. They have the books and
other sources of information within
their reach ; they should have every
facility to acquire the knowledge

PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.

139

that is necessary to fit them for their
duties, if they will only pay attention
to them ; but they don't always do it.
Some people seem to like to ask
questions. I have been so bored at
times with questioners that I have
said to them: "Answer your own
questions yourselves and submit
them to me, and I will tell you
whether you are right or wrong, as
near as I can. But if we were to
devote ourselves to answering ques-
tions that the Bishop should answer
for the people, and attend to du-
ties that should be attended to by
the Teachers in the wards, we would
have very little time for doing any-
thing else. When the brethren and
sisters want to know anything about
temple work, about the ordinances,
about the precepts and principles of
the Gospel or the obligations of
members in the Church, let them go
to their Bishops and find out; and,
if the Bishops can't inform them,
let them go to the presidents of their
stakes, and let the president of the
stake and his counselors and the
Bishop and his counselors get to-
gether, if necessary, and answer the
question. Then if they are not sat-
isfied about it let them appeal to the
Presidency of the Church or to the
Twelve, or the Seventy or Presid-
ing Bishopric as the case may re-
quire, and possibly we may help you
out.

There is a disposition — I feel al-
most indignant to refer to it at all,
but I am led to believe that there is
a feeling and disposition on the part
of some of our brethren to miscon-
strue my position, my feeling and
my desire with reference to the tem-
perance question. I thought I ex-
pressed myself here last night as
plainly as a man could do it, and
yet the very remarks that I made
here last evening, before the priest-

hood meeting, have been, I am
told, so misinterpreted and miscon-
strued that I am beset to know what
I meant, and as Brother Golden
said : "I am going to tell you some-
thing." I started out in this minis-
try in 1854, a boy of fifteen years of
age. From that hour until now I
have never relented nor relaxed, one
moment, in my advocacy of abstin-
ence from strong drink, and my ad-
vocacy of temperance and prohibi-
tion, wherever prohibition can be ef-
fected ; I believe in it. I believe that
the time will come and that it is
close by, when the people of this
stalte will have to join in the proces-
sion of other states and adopt a law
of state-wide prohibition ; I believe
the time will come when they will
be forced to do it, to keep in line
with the other states in the Union.

I am delighted with the effort that
is being put forth in Great Britain —
the motherland and the fatherhr""1
of many of the Latter-day Saints,
and one of the most fruitful nurs-
eries of the Church, where people
have been let loose to indulge in
drunkenness, to wallow in the de-
basing evils of the "public house,"
the "beer shop" and to indulge in
every species of licentiousness
which leads to degradation and 'pov-
erty. Many of the mayors of the
great boroughs and cities are prin-
cipal owners of the ale houses, and
dispensaries of intoxicating drinks.
Now the authorities of that great
nation, the leaders of the people are
waking up to these monstrous evils
and are setting to work with a will
and a determination to establish
temperance in that land. It will be
the salvation of our mother country,
if they will only do it as Russia has
done it. I propose to continue to
preach abstinence and to advocate
the cause of temperance ; I not only

140

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

believe in and will advocate this, but
I will also advocate and strive to the
best of my ability to use every op-
portunity or power within my reach
for prohibition, in wisdom, and not
in unwisdom. If I go to any extreme
at all, in any matter, I hope it will
be in the cause of justice, truth,
temperance, righteousness and hon-
esty of life and purpose. I may get
extreme in matters of that kind, but
I may not be so extreme as some
people are in questions of policy.

I have enjoyed the spirit of our
conference. I feel that we have been
blessed in our assemblies ; that much
has been said of a very important
and precious character to us, and I
sincerely hope that the spirit of the
conference will abide with us, will
go with us to our homes, and that
we will be able to continue to build
on the foundations of the Gospel of
the Son of God until we become per-
fect even as our Father in heaven is
perfect, according to the sphere and
intelligence that we act in and pos-
sess. I do not expect that any of
us will ever become in mortality
quite so perfect as God is perfect ;
but in the spheres in which we are
called to act, and according to the
capacjty and breadth of intelligence
that we possess, in our sphere and
in the exercise of the talent, the
ability and intelligence that God has
given to us, we may become as per-
fect in our sphere as God is perfect
in His higher and more exalted
sphere. I believe that.

Now may the Lord bless Israel.
May He bless our presiding Patri-
arch, who will give us a parting
blessing in the adjournment of this
conference. May the Lord bless
the presidents of the stakes of Zion
and their counselors, and the high
councils of the stakes, and the Bish-
ops and their counselors, and all

who are called to act in the very im-
portant callings as teachers among
the people. I don't know of any
duty that is more sacred, or more
necessary, if it is carried out as it
should be, than the duties of the
teachers who visit the homes of the
people, who pray with them, who
admonish them to virtue and honor,
to unity, to love, and to faith in and
fidelity to the cause of Zion ; who
strive to settle uncertainties in the
minds of the people and bring them
to the standard of the knowledge
that they should possess in the Gos-
pel of Jesus Christ. May all the
people open their doors, call in the
members of their families and re-
spect the visits of the teachers to
their homes, and join with them in
striving to bring about a better con-
dition, if possible, in the home than
ordinarily exists. If you can ad-
vance, try to aid the teachers to
help you make that advancement.

May God bless Israel in all her
abidings. Remember our Eld^-s
who are laboring throughout the
nations of the earth, in your
prayers ; and remember your
prayers, for the Lord has enjoined
it upon us that we shall pray, morn-
ing and evening. And the prophets
of the Book of Mormon have en-
joined upon us that we should carry
with us always the spirit of prayer
in our hearts, morning, noon and
night, and that we should pray for
the blessings of the Lord upon our
families, our farms, our flocks, our
herds, our business, and everything
that we possess in the world. Do
not forget to pray. Don't suppose
for a moment that you are as safe
and secure in the favor of the Lord
when you feel independent of Him
as you will be if you feel your de-
pendence upon Him all the day long.
God bless you. Amen.

PATRIARCH HYRUM G. SMITH.

141

The congregation sang the hymn :

We thank Thee, O God for a Prophet,
To guide us in these latter days;

We thank Thee for sending the gospel
To lighten our minds with its rays.

PATRIARCH HYRUM G. SMITH.

BLESSING AND BENEDICTION.

Our Father who art in heaven, at
the close of this conference we re-
turn unto Thee the thanks and the
gratitude of our hearts 'for Thy
many kindnesses unto us, for the
words that have been spoken, for
the revelation of Thy works and the
work of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, and
of His life and mission in the world.
We pray Thee to bless and sanctify
the teachings given at this confer-
ence to the good of Thy people, and
the furtherance of Thy work here
upon the earth. Wilt Thou sanctify
the songs and music which have
been heard in this conference, to the
good of all those who have heard
the same.

Wilt Thou remember Thy people
who have been gathered together
here in conference. Let Thy peace
and blessings go with them to their
homes, that they may have with
them a constant and thorough un-
derstanding of Thy word as it has
been taught here ; that they may not
misconstrue any of the teachings,
and that they may have moral cour-
age and strength to obey them in
their lives, that they may thereby be
worthy to receive Thy blessings.

Now Father, as Thy servant
whom thou hast called to bless Thy
people, I seal upon this great multi-
tude in this conference the blessings
which Thou art willing to bestow

upon us, Thy people, and upon Thy
servants whom Thou has called to
preside and to teach Thy people.
Wilt Thou bless those who have
heard these teachings, that they may
take them to their homes and put
them into practice.

Help us, O Father, to do Thy will
and to receive Thy blessings with
humility and gratitude. Let Thy
blessings go with this people to then-
homes, that no ill or evil shall befall
them, that they may go with Thy
benediction, with Thy smile and ap-
probation upon them ; may they by
their good works, by their testi-
monies, and by their loving kindnec ■
to their neighbors, influence many
. others of Thy children to learn the
truths Thou hast made known.

Dismiss us now with Thy bless-
ings, help us in all our endeavor-; to
serve Thee and keep Thy command-
ments, and unto Thee we will
ascribe the honor and the praise for-
ever, through Thy Son, Jesus
Christ. Amen.

Conference adjourned for six
months.

Prof. Evan Stephens conducted
the singing of the choir and congre-
gation at the Conference meetings
in the Tabernacle, assisted by
Horace S. Ensign; and Prof. John
J. McClellan played the accompani-
ments, assisted by Tracy Y. Can-
non, and Levi N. Harmon, Jr.

The stenographic reports of the
discourses were taken by Elders
Franklin W. Otterstrom, Frederick
E. Barker, Frederick G. Barker, and
Clarence Cramer.

Duncan M. McAllister.

Clerk of Conference.

From Elders and Saints Abroad.

To the presidency and general au-
thorities of the priesthood, and to
all the Saints in the stakes and
wards and organizations of the
Church in Zion, love and greeting.

We, the Elders and members of
the Church of Christ, scattered in
the nations of Europe, beseech for
you a splendid outpouring of the
Holy Ghost in the annual confer-
ence, and the continued showering
down of the choicest favors and
blessings of God upon you in all
your abiding places.

You reside in the promised land,
where the Lord has tenderly gath-
ered you; we are yet scattered
abroad in the earth. Your feet are
planted in pleasant places and all
your paths are peace ; we are among
a people multitudes of whom find
pleasure only in unrighteousness
and tread the downward paths that
lead to destruction and death. You
are privileged to meet and worship
the Lord in undisturbed tranquility :
we meet under unfavorable circum-
stances, some of our branches hav-
ing been disorganized and many of
our meetings suspended. Your pray-
ers and songs of praise ascend in
sweet cadence and joyous strains to
the ears of the God of Sabaoth ; ours
too, have been heard and answered.
The word of the Lord falls upon
your ears as a benediction from the
lips of inspired men whose hearts
are very near the Lord, while the
elders are being rapidly withdrawn
from us and we feel keenly their ab-
sence. You dwell in beautiful
homes among the pure in heart,

while we are surrounded by Baby-
lon. You inhabit the hills and val-
leys of Zion, and through the favor
of God and the blessings of in-
dustry the earth yields in her abun-
dance and strength ; in Europe the
hills and valleys are torn and fur-
rowed by trench and shell, and have
become graveyards and fields of
slaughter, and the otherwise fruitful
ground is soaked in blood and glut-
ted with the bodies of men. Your
children ''grow up like calves of the
stall," fed by the choicest inspira-
tion of heaven and through your
sons have the people of many na-
tions been blessed ; our children are
surrounded by fearful temptations,
and they face unpromising pros-
pects— some are already orphaned
and some are denied the presence
and protection of fathers and older
brothers, and the minds of others
are full of dread of the future.

Nevertheless, we rejoice with you
in all the blessings of prosperity
and peace enjoyed by the body of
the Church in Zion. We also are
of the "body of Christ, but members
in particular," members far removed
from the head and trunk, but for all
that, none the less a part of the
body, and we are deeply interested
in the welfare of the whole. We
rejoice in the knowledge that, while
we may be the "less honorable, and
weaker members," yet we are not
forgotten by the body which feels
after us and is kindly solicitous of
our well-being.

In behalf of the Latter-day Saints
in the nations of Europe, we thank

EPISTLE FROM EUROPE.

143

you, the body of the Saints and each
member composing the body, for
your considerate remembrance of us
in your recent liberal, contributions
to assist those of your members in
these countries, who, because of
wars and contentions, have been re-
duced to privation and want. The
Church has ever been mindful of her
children and we who now have an-
other instance of her mercy, extend
to you our heartfelt gratitude and
humbly acknowledge the open hand
of our Father in heaven, whom we
love and whom we worship in the
name of Jesus Christ, His Son and
our Redeemer. As it has been
clearly shown that we have need of
you, so do we pray that we may
have power, through faith in God
the Father and His Son Jesus
Christ, to remain true to the Gospel
we have received, and seek to work
righteousness in the earth that you
may also ever feel that you have
need of us.

In all our tribulations we rejoice
in the knowledge and testimony of
the truth, and count it a favor that
we are found worthy to suffer af-
fliction for Christ's sake and the
Gospel's. We beseech you, broth-
ers and sisters, pray for us that we
may receive faith and strength to

endure to the end so that, if not in
this life, then in the life to come,
we may be saved and found worthy
to dwell with you in the Celestial
kingdom of our Father in heaven.

In the love of God and the fellow-
ship of Jesus Christ, we salute all
the Saints who have covenanted to
serve the Most High "and the Lord
make you to increase and abound in
love one toward another, and to-
ward all men, even as we do toward
you, to the end that He may estab-
lish us in holiness toward God, even
the Father, at the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ with all His
Saints." Amen.

Hyrum M. Smith.

Liverpool, Eng., March 23, 1915.

P. S. — The elders still remaining
in these lands are in good health,
and only need the cheerful en-
couragement of their loved ones in
Zion in order to remain in good
spirits and hope.

Let not the parents, relatives and
friends of the missionaries worry
and fret, we are in the hands of the
Lord and we know, as you must
know, that He can take care of us
and preserve us while we are here,
as well as He could if we were home
with you.

H. m. s.

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Full text of "Conference reports of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"

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